Fire investigators say classic car warehouse fire was accidental

TULSA - Tulsa fire investigators say a Wednesday afternoon warehouse fire in North Tulsa was accidental in nature.

That building contained classic cars and countless antique auto parts.

The building sits in an industrial part of North Tulsa near Independence and North Lewis Place.

It was just about five o'clock when a resident spotted smoke coming from the warehouse.

Moments later, the first of many fire trucks arrived on scene.

"Immediately went in for the attack and told the next in company to bring him a line; which sets the tone for the rest of us that we got a pretty good working fire," District Fire Chief Roger Williams said.

The building contains the hard work of Ralph Alix, a classic car connoisseur.

Alix said three of his major projects were inside, "A '66 Lincoln Continental convertible, '57 Ford retractable hardtop and a '63 Galaxy XL."

There was also 70 to 80 engines and antique auto parts; many of them are hard to find.

For safety reasons, fire crews wouldn't let Alix or 2NEWS cameras inside the building.

"Well it's pretty discouraging. You try not to really focus on that right now because, you'd be extremely depressed," Alix said.

Alix can't go back inside to see what he can salvage until the structure is secured and he's eager to know, he doesn't have insurance. Alix estimates the value of the classic cars to be around $200,000.

The cars were saved but did suffer some smoke damage. The building itself was a total loss.

"I don't know where I go from here. Obviously, we're going to have to tear down the front and haul it off."

Late Wednesday night, investigators determined the cause. They say a couple of kids threw lit cigarettes in a window. Investigators don't believe the children were trying to start a fire.