$1-Million Fire Burns 17 Rare Cars

A blaze in a quiet Covina neighborhood turned a collector’s 17 rare and vintage cars--including a Maserati 3500 GT, a British Austin taxi complete with a “for hire” meter and a 24-year-old Ferrari Lusso, reportedly one of only 49 in the world--into blackened hulks.

Officials of the San Gabriel Valley Fire Authority estimated damage from the fire, which apparently spread from power lines to a palm tree to the roof of a makeshift car warehouse, at up to $1 million.

“It appears that it was started by a service line running through the top of a palm tree,” said Carl Johnson, chief of operations for the fire department that covers Covina and West Covina.

An extraordinarily hot blaze, fueled by paint and thinners, the Monday fire gutted the “garage,” actually a storage building with wooden walls and a fiberglass roof, on three lots adjoining the home of auto hobbyist Gino Londi. The scene Tuesday was one of charred beams and melted equipment.

Vintage Vehicles

Besides the Maserati, the British cab and the Ferrari, the casualties included several vintage Rolls-Royces and Mercedes Benzes.

Londi had told neighbors that the Ferrari was worth $250,000. Ferrari salesmen confirmed that the rare Lusso could sell for anywhere from $180,000 to $250,000.

Londi was not at the scene Tuesday. A friend and fellow car collector at his house said that he was too distraught to discuss the fire.

“It’s like a coin collector losing his collection,” said the man, who would not give his name. “You can’t replace it.”

Londi told authorities Monday that the collection was worth $1 million, although the estimate was questioned by Johnson. “What you might buy for $10,000, I might buy for $30,000,” he said.

Covina building inspectors said the city had been trying for years to get Londi to remove the structure, which extended over three back yards.

“It’s a violation to have a structure extending to the end of the property,” building inspector Myra Toles said.

She said the building should have had a 5-foot space between its walls and the edge of the property in order to prevent the spread of fires.

‘Crackling Sound’

One neighbor said she heard a “crackling sound” about 10 p.m. Monday.

“I looked out the window and the palm tree out there was going up like a fireball,” said Julie Dondlinger, who moved to her uncle’s nearby house just three weeks ago.

Electricity from power lines “zapped” the palm tree, she said, and continued to shower sparks on Londi’s storage structure. Dondlinger saved her own garage by spraying water on the shingle roof with a garden hose.