[Chrysler300] Garage fire

["Rich Barber" <c300@xxxxxxx>]

We sure beat the tar out of garages for our 300's did we not?  Adding all
the ideas together should produce a great man cave.  

The report below is of a recent Omaha fire that severely damaged a superb
man cave and it reminded me that no one talked about a security system for
our ultimate Chrysler 300 brute cave.  I viewed the pictures and they were
heart breaking.  Fortunately no Chrysler 300's were harmed in the fire.
Fire, smoke, CO, high or low temperature, power outage, broken glass,
motion, flammable vapors and other unwanted phenomena may be detected and
someone, somewhere alerted.  To maximize reliability, the system should have
battery backup sufficient to last several days and a redundant signal system
using phone lines and wireless monitoring.  Thieves know how to cut power
and communication lines to disable security systems and cell phone
technology can be used to make sure a help wanted signal goes out.  All new
construction in our neck of CA now also is required to have sprinklers.  I'm
not a big fan of sprinklers, but water damage is easier to repair than fire
damage.  Any security system in a garage needs to be able to be shut off
during welding operations and any other operations that might give false
alarms.

There were a few suggestions on coloring or coating the concrete and to that
I'd add a recommendation to investigate the various paint and epoxy floor
coatings/coverings, including my favorite, the black and white tile.


Most of you have heard about Jerry Vencentini's disastrous fire last
weekend, but others maybe not. I wanted to be sure all Woodie folk who
displayed at the Joslyn Castle concours last June know about it.  
Jerry, you know, is the main force behind the concours. He's a lifetime car
guy, long-time exhibitor and judge in AACA and Early Ford V-8 clubs. The
attached pictures are his. I went up yesterday and took some of my own. The
'94 Mustang Cobra pace car with 34 original miles is a total loss, as is the
'34 Ford Cabriolet Jerry has owned for 34 years (although the metal parts
may still be
salvageable) and the King Midget that he had at the Castle last June.  
Also several motor scooters and cycles, about 1000 model cars, restored gas
pumps, juke box, library and more. A wall separated the room where these
three cars were from the rest of the garage. The other cars - '34 Ford
Tudor, '50 convert, '40 coupe, '56 Courier, '61 Corvette, '49 Merc convert,
'06 Rausch & Lang electric, later IROC Camaro and Corvette - were not
burned, but were severaly damaged by heat, smoke and water. Jerry figures
they will require re-restoring including repaint, upholstery, engine &
mechanical detailing. Six more cars in another building were not damaged,
and Jerry had several of his cars located elsewhere, one in the ACD Museum,
etc. All was well insured, but $$ doesn't replace the irreplaceable. The
Hagerty adjuster was there yesterday when I went.

Jerry's and Connie's spirits are good. They know they had done all they
could to protect the collection. Fire marshall believes the fire started at
an electric plug at the front of the building to which lights outside the
front of the building were connected. They were on a timer, and the thought
is the connection (plug-in) was a little loose from age and wear, which
caused an arc (spark) that set fire to the insulation inside the wall. It
spread up the wall and into the rafters. Heat blew out the window on the
upper level, which triggered the alarm system, and the alarm monitor at some
remote location initially reported it as a break-in. By the time someone
investigated they found the fire well along and flames coming out the roof.
Since no one was on the property (Jerry and Connie were in Arizona), the
heat and smoke detectors were ineffective, so the fire was not detected
until the security alarm system was triggered.

Jerry and Connie are in clean-up mode, planning to rebuild and yes, hosting
the Third Annual Joslyn Castle Concours d'Elegance.





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