Car fires alarm neighbors

May 18, 8:53 PMSF Bayview ExaminerJeffrey Betcher

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A car fire, on a quaint, residential Bayview block, near the Latona Garden, roused Latona Avenue neighbors at 1:30am on Monday of last week.  Another car fire, at 5:30am that same day, erupted not far away, on the 1900 block of Newcomb Avenue.  Two other fires of a similar nature flared in other neighborhoods that same morning, leading investigators to suspect arson.

Latona Avenue resident, Jim Ansbro, took on the task of cleaning up the mess that the fire near his home had left, a characteristic undertaking for this community-involved neighbor.  Ansbro had seen the fire when it reached its crest that morning.  He reported concern that the car would explode and do more damage than, ultimately, it did.

It was, he said, an "inferno with four foot flames that scorched a tree, melted an innocent neighbor's bumper, and put a hole into the street.

Another Latona resident, Mike Rindner, reported seeing firemen at the scene.  He observed that there were no broken windows in the car, and that the origination of the fire seemed to be near the front passenger side, under the front hood.

"My first thought," Rindner said, "is that this incident was some kind of electrical short."

Neighbors remain vigilant.