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Storage Warehouse Fire Pittsburgh

Started by Highwayman68, May 11, 2019, 05:24:10 PM

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Highwayman68

Well this has been one of the most horrific weeks in my life ever!

I received a text message on Wednesday afternoon asking if I kept my 68 Fleetwood stored near where a fire is occurring. I looked at the news link sent to me and that WAS the building my car is being stored in. For reference and context look up "Warehouse Fire Etna PA". For the remainder of the day live videos were showing how the warehouse was burning out of control. There was nothing I could do at that time because I live in Clearwater Florida. All through the night and all through most of the next day all I could do is check the internet for the latest videos and news reports, all of which were normally posted hours after they were shown on the local news stations. And of course you have to apply a sensation factor to everything being said so what was being said usually is worse than what it is.

In the late afternoon on Thursday I received a call from the storage company explaining that they don't know the conditions of any of the cars inside or knew when they would be able to go inside. Even though they had nothing to say it was nice that they reached out to the customers to acknowledge us.

I found a few pictures posted by a fireman of an area in the building on the other side of the building from where my car is parked. It showed the collapsed floor and one completely burned out Ferrari dangling on the edge of the opening. But it also showed a car in the distance that looked like the fire did not get to it so there began to be some hope for mine. Another picture posted later looking in from the outside of an opening made in the front of the building for firefighters to gain access showed a few totally burned cars and some that weren't so bad, a little more hope for me to have.

Received a call from the storage company on Friday saying that they will be permitted to enter the building possibly on Saturday and will begin scheduling customer visits the following week once they were told that they are allowed to. Again it was nice that they were reaching out to us.

Today I received a call and a picture, it looks very likely that there is minimal damage if any at all to my car. I can't believe that 30 year old cover is still intact.  It has been sun faded for years.  I have no idea if there is any smoke or heat damage but still having something to work with is the best I was hoping for and that now looks possible.

I purchased this car in 1981 when I was 17. It was a daily driver for a few years then became a toy and I have done everything that I could to keep it out of the elements even when I didn't have a lot of money. This car means more to me than it's intrinsic value and no replacement could ever feel the same or right.

It will be a lot easier waiting for the phone call to be told I can fly up there to see the car than the waiting has been this past many days.
1968 Fleetwood Purchased in 1981

76eldo

Hopefully your car is OK. The cover may have saved it from smoke damage.
I hope it all works out for you.

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

The Tassie Devil(le)

Hopefully there were no other Cadillacs in the warehouse.

And that everyone had really good insurance.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Bill Young

I am so sorry fellow Sun Coast Member. I am Praying that your treasure is all Ok.

35-709

If the cover survived that well, hopefully the car did also.  Best wishes on the outcome.
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

harry s

Ditto on the best wishes for a satisfactory outcome.      Harry
Harry Scott 4195
1941 6733
1948 6267X
2011 DTS Platinum

Ken Perry

Keep us posted on your Cadillac and other parts of the storie as you learn them. Best of luck to you and your Fleetwood. I have a soft spot for 68 Fleetwoods,when I was a kid,my dad had one as our family car. Lots of good memories,,,what a car  :)  Ken Perry
Cadillac Ken

chrisntam

Hopefully, it will be ok.

Suggestions:

Remove it from that environment as soon as possible and clean it up, vacuum everything you can, wipe down everything you can, air it out, it will have smoke odor.  Replace the car cover, it is a gonner.

Once that is done, determine if add'l professional help is needed.

You may want to consult a professional to be sure of what steps you should take, but at minimum, get it out of there - away from the odor source.
1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

Mark,
I'm glad your car is OK. Do this before making any insurance settlement. Make sure the acid smoke didn't etch the glass or chrome. It's sometimes hard to see.
Good Luck, Bob
1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

cadillacmike68

Whoa - close call. I hope it's all ok.
Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike

Cape Cod Fleetwood

Holy cow Mark, didn't see this on your FB page.
Prayers the car is fine, what a close call.

\m/
Laurie
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

Chuck Swanson

I've had fire claims before and I wouldn't do anything at all to car until the insurance appraiser looks at it.  You could do more damage by not having it cleaned correctly by a professional, which will be good if that is all it needs.  Hopefully will all be covered without any deductibles, but leave it to the pros (and check references).  Chuck
CLC Lifetime
AACA Lifetime
Like 65-66 Club: www.facebook.com/6566Cadillac
66 DeVille Convertible-CLC Sr Wreath, (AACA 1st Jr 2021, Senior 2022, 1st GN 2022 Sr GN 2023), Audrain Concours '22 3rd in Class.
66 Sedan DeVille hdtp
66 Calais pillar sedan
66 Series 75 9-pass limo
65 Eldorado (vert w/bucket seats)
65 Fleetwood
07 DTS w/ Performance pkg.
67 Chevy II Nova (AACA Sr GN 2018)
69 Dodge Coronet R/T

Highwayman68

At this point I still have to wait to be told when I can actually see the car and when I will be able to remove the car from the building. The hard part is behind me now knowing there is still something to work with. The rest will happen on a schedule that I have no control over yet.

Today I will be looking for a new cover and a new place to park the car when I can have it back.
1968 Fleetwood Purchased in 1981

cadillacmike68

I hope you can get to it soon. This would have my skin crawling.

The fact that the cover is not melted or burned away means a lot. Sure smoke will get up under it, but I'm sure you have all the windows closed so intrusion into the car interior will be minimal.
Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike

Cape Cod Fleetwood

And if the car smells a little smokey, its all good, its a great story.
Like the altar surviving the fire at Notre Dame.
I'd be keeping every piece of media connected to the warehouse fire too.

\m/
Laurie
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

Glen

I would not touch the car until the insurance people have done their instigation.  They want to see everything as it is.  Any changes may invalidate the claim.
The building’s owners insurance may eventually pay any claim, but that is between your insurance and theirs.   
Glen Houlton CLC #727 
CLCMRC benefactor #104

fishnjim

I sympathize with this gentleman and his plight as other have said. 
 
A lesson to learn here; picking storage facilities, make sure they have good sprinklers and are up to date on fire codes.   A lot of 'old' out of date buildings are bought inexpensively and become storage spots and nothing is done to upgrade them.   
There are underground caves over in the western end/mid section on PA, that are supposedly very safe for storage. (FYI)   They archive records etc in some(iron mtn).   I know a lot of RVers use them for winter time.

Highwayman68

I used to keep this car in Brady's Bend which is part of Iron Mountain many years ago.

This place was top notch, very clean epoxy floors, well lit, a receptacle for every car to plug a battery tender in, very secure and 25' above ground so no flooding issues. Apparently in the county and state there isn't a mandatory yearly inspection of the sprinkler system although I would have thought that their insurance company would have a yearly inspection required.

Still no call about when I can see the car. We plan to be in Pittsburgh over Memorial Day weekend so I hope I will be able to see it then. I have little hope that the investigation will be to a point when the cars can be moved for some time due to the sprinkler system being turned off. When that time comes I will assess the damage if any to the car and make a decision on how to proceed then. I still intend to have the car shipped here in Florida but timing on that depends on the damage.
1968 Fleetwood Purchased in 1981

76eldo

I design and install security, fire and video systems.  Typically townships in PA have an annual certification and inspection and the sprinkler company does their inspection and so does the fire alarm company. If the building has a sprinkler system and it was left out of service that's a big problem for both the sprinkler company and the alarm company.

Sprinkler systems, when properly monitored by an alarm company, have at a minimum, tamper and flow valves and switches.  If the water supply to the whole system is turned off, or to a particular stack, the alarm company should receive a tamper signal and should notify the property owner.  If and when the flow switch trips, that means that water is moving through the system indicating a sprinkler head has popped wither due to damage or from enough heat to trip the head and make it flow.

If this place is unheated now as a storage space, but was previously heated and used as a factory, that may explain the reason as to why the sprinklers may have been turned off.

Either way I hope you are completely insured.  Your policy will pay for your car to be dealt with and then your company will go after the property owner's insurance co.

Smoke odor can be removed and the car can be cleaned and detailed to be like new.  I hope that's all it takes to get you back in shape.  Even though the cover didn't burn, you need to carefully go over all of the rubber parts in the car to make sure that there is no heat damage.

Good luck,

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

Highwayman68

The building is heated, I missed that on the list of things I liked about it.
1968 Fleetwood Purchased in 1981