Good news and bad....

[howard]

Good news and bad today folks. It's just gone 5am and I've been at my workshop since 12:30am after being rudely awoken by the fire brigade telling me someone set it on fire.

Fireman says "all your cars are lost" - I feel sick. Totally.

Fortunately, when I arrive the fire is out. Things do not look good. Outside are the remains of my Daihatsu Cuore (for fuel efficient jobs), and my friends Maestro van and another friends Land Rover Discovery. All write-offs

I can see a hole in the side of the building, and the sight of a Vauxhall Victor peeping out and looking very black. I still fear the worst.

However, on going in, I realise it's just ash and that amazingly nothing is burnt. Wet, I grant you, thanks to the firemen's hoses. And just what made me move a 32 out yesterday from the spot the fire started? What made me do up the window of the coupe? I've been very, very lucky. So, some parts etc are ruined but things could have been very very bad.

Oh well, I'm guarding the place as we speak against looters, but a friend of mine is taking over watch soon.

I'll let you have more news and the pictures in the morning.

When I have to sweep out 3 inches of water covering the entire floor!

Fun fun fun..........

So not all bad news fortunately. The DAF's will rise from the ashes!

[dafdaffer]

blimey Howard, thats not good, i hope that all is not lost!!! let us know how you get on

Paul

[veeruk]

Hi Howard, I'm sorry to hear that. Looks like the old ones survived the ordeal. Little vandals, bet they are getting away with it as well. Let us know if we can help in any way.

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Oh my word, that's awful for you. As you say, what a relief re the DAFs, but what a shame about the other cars including the Victor. Just out of interest, what model Victor is it? (I only ask because I also have a bit of a thing about FD and FE Victors and other Vauxhalls of that era - No, I don't own any!)

Assuming it was arson, I hope that at the very least, they are identified and caught. I share your view though that even if they are, they might just get a slap on the wrist along with some counselling, whereas you're left with a lot of cleaning up, lost memories and hassle.

All the best.

R

[daf44]

.

so sorry to hear about the fire.
that has got to be any collectors worst nightmare.
let us know when you get a better idea of the damage.

i am sure we all hope the damage is a lot less than it appears.

best of luck.

paul44

[ericthered]

hi Howard,

thats a terrible thing to happen

i hope you get everything sorted out and i hope you are insured, it does not cover all the heart ache and trouble but at least you get something back!

if its arson they need stringing up! or at least a good whipping!
forget the political correct c**p!!

best wishes and good luck with sorting everything.
Eric.

[howard]

Howdy folks, Thanks so much for your kind words of support - I do appreciate them immensely.

A few hours on, it is clearer what has happened, and what the damage is.

Fire did not actually enter the workshop, and smoke damage is minimal. Water damage is restricted only to a an area of shelving where I kept non-DAF parts (although a lot of it was doused). It helped that I did up the windows on the DAFs yesterday!

I did lose my little Daihatsu, but it was fully insured. The wall has now been repaired.

CCTV footage exists and shows two people setting fire to a pile of tyres behind a caravan (with the aid of petrol) - when the caravan caught fire, it spread quickly to the three cars and onto the wooden part of the workshop wall. Thank heavens the fire brigade were in there in minutes. They saved the lot in my opinion.

We had visits from the CSI and also the arson squad whose behaviour I found quite odd. Even with the CCTV footage to show what happened, they were there for over 5 hours, taking soil samples and climbing on the rooves of neighbouring units. Still, I assume they know what they are doing!

The DAF's were covered in foam which has stained them, but this comes off with a gentle T-Cut. I'd rather be doing that than sweeping up the charcoal.

The Victors (both are FB's, Richard) are both fine. Not even scorched. I am surprised and amazed.

I have had an amazingly lucky escape. Now to sort out the insurance money, and hopefully someone will be brought to justice. Oh, and to catch up with my sleep!

More news as we get it. The DAF's are all fine. If they had all burned out I'd be selling up and moving abroad immediately....!

Thanks again to one and all for everything. Now to get my head down for a while...... Zzzzz!


Howard

[daf44]

glad to hear there is not too much damage.

i just hope they catch the little b£^$%"$s and throw the book at them.

it could have been a lot worse though. you were very lucky.

keep us informed.

paul44

[spunkymonkey]

Not exactly a Good News day, then, but a lot better than it could have been

On the plus side, if they do catch the little <insert decription here>'s, arson does tend to be one of the crimes they still take very seriously so hopefully books will be thrown!

[howard]

Fingers crossed someone is caught - shame my no-claims bonus may have to suffer because of some uncontrollably bored idiots intent on upsetting people.

Pictures can be found at s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn37/DAFDaffodil/

Nothing too upsetting for us DAF fans, I assure you!

[howard]

Hi John,

No I don't mind one bit. Spread the luck! I know I've had a very, very lucky escape. In fact, it highlights the dangers of "putting all your eggs in one basket" and the importance of off-road insurance cover. The pink Victor in the photo does actually have very minor damage (plastic bits melted, paint bubbling on bonnet owing to the heat) but I have decided to sell this lovely car and concentrate on the DAF's. You all know it makes sense!

The arson squad stayed for over five hours, getting on the rooves, following cables etc etc and all manner of other things - there may be more to this than meets the eye. My main worry is that as I may have mentioned before an application is being made next year to go ahead with a "compulsory purchase order" of the site for more housing, and someone might be wanting to make sure that this goes ahead.

Personally, I don't know who to point the finger at, but hopefully something will come out in the wash.

More as we have it. I have nothing but praise for the fantastic work of the local fire brigade though, and nothing but contempt for the idiots who choose to throw stones (and bottles and fireworks) at fire engines when they see them. Sad that we have all the tools and technology to make society wonderful yet it doesn't seem to improve anything - only to make things worse.