LaPorte, Ind. Barn Fire Destroys $200K Vehicle Collection

LAPORTE - Investigators Monday were still trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a pole barn and nearly two dozen antique vehicles inside the metal structure outside LaPorte.

LaPorte County police fire investigator Mike Raymer said finding the source of the blaze will be difficult given the amount of damage and need to bring in an excavator to remove the cars along with the roof and four walls that all caved in.

He said moving the charred remains could destroy evidence that otherwise would shed light on the cause.

"To actually try to pinpoint an exact location where it started is going to be very hard because the entire building is collapsed," Raymer said.

Early Saturday, Center Township firefighters along with firefighters from Springfield and Kankakee townships responded to the fire in the 4800 block of North 100 West. Property owner Kenneth Coates told investigators he was getting ready for bed when he looked out and saw an "orange glow."

He called 911, but the 120-by-60-foot metal structure with a concrete floor that sits across the street from his home was quickly engulfed in flames.

Despite having no gas or electricity running in the building, Raymer said no assumptions of foul play can be made as there's nothing right now to indicate the fire was intentionally set.

One theory, he noted, is that an animal might have chewed through the wiring of one of the vehicles, creating a short that could have touched off the blaze.

"We'll have to dig through it and see what we can come up with," Center Township Fire Chief Mark Christiano said.

Coates said 21 classic vehicles, mostly Lincolns with some dating from the 1950s, were destroyed.

His late father started the collection, but, Coates said, he began adding to it in the 1970s when he bought his first Lincoln in high school and kept driving it while in college.

Coates also revealed he did not have insurance on the vehicles but did have coverage on the building. He estimated the loss on the cars alone between $150,000 and $200,000.

"I never would have imagined that building catching fire. It's just the way it goes," Coates said.

Also destroyed were lumber, boat parts to a marine business operated by Coates, four all-terrain vehicles and a 2010 Dodge Challenger, Coates said.