(La Porte, IN) - A car next to La Porte City Hal was heavily damaged by fire this afternoon.

 

According to the fire department, a man living at the Rumely Historic Apartments pulled into a public parking space a short distance south of City Hall. He had just returned from a grocery store and saw smoke when he stepped out of vehicle, but didn’t think anything of it.

 

There were flames showing from the car, though, after he walked across the street to his apartment.

 

Fire Chief Andy Snyder said the flames posed a threat to a vehicle parked next to it. However, firefighters, with help from police officers, were successful in keeping the vehicle next to the burning car from being damaged.

 

The victim reported the engine of his car, a 2000 Mercury Marquis, was sputtering before he parked it. The fire did not start in the engine compartment, which suffered no damage. Pretty much the rest of the vehicle, though, was engulfed by flames.

 

Snyder said vehicle fires can start from other sources, like fuel leaking from a broken line and coming into contact with the catalytic converter, which can become hot enough to ignite gasoline.

 

La Porte County Auditor Tim Stabosz said he drove by the fire, which produced a smoky haze smelling like burning garbage through downtown.