Even as the fire spread hot and fast Tuesday afternoon, the men kept running back inside Kaeding Performance Center. They grabbed what they could: engines, tool carts and shiny sprint cars belonging to South Bay's legendary racing family.
In the end, it wasn't enough.
''We're out of business,'' Howard Kaeding said grimly. ''It's like the boss came by and tore your paycheck.''
Fire investigators are unsure what caused Tuesday's three-alarm blaze in Campbell, which also damaged a neighboring shed on Cristich Lane and gummed up traffic on Highway 17. Though some people got singed, there were no major injuries.
The afternoon's westerly winds and the chemicals and diesel fuel stored inside the auto shop helped fuel the aggressive flames, said Capt. Steve Prziborowski with the Santa Clara County Fire Department. It took an hour to contain the fire.
It got ''real dark, real quick. Then it went boom! boom! boom! boom!'' said Al Hieb, who owns a business across the street. ''That smoke covered the sun.''
Witnesses said a grass fire along the freeway jumped over to Kaeding Performance, the shop owned by the racing family. Howard Kaeding, who began racing in 1954, is a Northern California dirt-track legend. His son, Brent Kaeding, was a familiar sight at sprint-car races at the now-defunct San Jose Speedway. Brent's sons, Bud and Tim, are also racers.
Joel Kaeding -- Brent's brother -- sprayed the area with water from a hose to keep the flames from spreading, Howard Kaeding said. Although the heavy machinery was destroyed, employees were able to save some items, including a glossy red sprint car that Brent Kaeding is expected to race this weekend in Watsonville.
Bill Foland said in the rush he almost forgot to save his own car, a silver Ford Mustang. For him, the business was more important.
''It's my life, my life!'' said Foland, a shipping and receiving manager. ''We were trying to save our livelihoods.''
Within two hours of the fire, members of the racing community began calling from as far away as Indiana, said Bruce Homer, who manages Brent Kaeding's racing team. People offered their sympathy, along with offers to help store equipment and take on other burdens.
The fire department got several 911 calls around 4:30 p.m., Prziborowski said, some reporting a grass fire and others reporting a structure fire. It was unclear Tuesday evening if there were two separate fires or if one caused the other. However, he noted that there had been at least two grass fires in the area, prompting Caltrans to mow the brush.
It's unclear what the damage estimate will be. A racing engine alone costs about $50,000.
Howard Kaeding, whose family came to Cristich Lane in 1939 when his father opened a physical therapy practice, said it will be tough, but he will rebuild.
''We'll survive,'' he said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
