(Kingsford Heights, IN) - A La Porte County couple tried saving their antique vehicles but the electric overhead door on their burning pole barn wouldn’t open because of a power outage from the strong Monday night storms.

 

“There was just no way of getting them out,” said Nerva Kraus, who lives at 0231 W. 975 South just outside Kingsford Heights.

 

Kraus, 70, said she and her husband, Daniel, often took the five beloved vehicles parked in the pole barn to car shows and on cruises during the summer.

 

They owned one of the cars, a blue 1957 Chevy Bel Air, since 1986.  Kraus said they had all of the other vehicles, including a 1966 Dodge Coronet, for close to a decade or more.

 

“A lot of sentiment right there.  It was quite devastating.  They’re like family,” she said.

 

Mr. Kraus, 72, told investigators he went inside the pole barn Tuesday afternoon and started his generator to supply power to his home during the lingering outage, according to La Porte County Police.

 

The generator caught fire, though, before he could wheel it out of the 50 X 80 structure.  Police said flames from the generator caught one of the inside walls of the metal sided pole barn on fire.

 

Kraus ran out of the structure to grab a fire extinguisher and returned to find the flames spreading too rapidly, police said.

 

Mrs. Kraus said they went to open the overhead door of the pole barn to start driving the vehicles out of the structure but it wouldn’t open.  It was at that moment their panicking minds realized there was no electricity to power the door.

 

They failed in their attempts to physically open the door and watched helplessly as the flames quickly engulfed the structure.

 

There was another 1957 Chevy Bel Air inside along with two 1955 Chevy Bel Airs.

 

Mrs. Kraus, who seemed numb in disbelief over the loss, said all of the now charred vehicles they took turns driving were in great shape.

 

“You just don’t expect to lose them all, all at once,” she said.

 

Police said the value of each car was estimated at anywhere from $20,000 to more than $100,000.

 

Mrs. Kraus doesn’t believe any of the fire damaged cars are restorable but she’ll leave that up to her insurance company to decide.

 

“They’re all looking in pretty bad shape.  I think they’re all totaled.  I don’t know,” she said.

 

No light was shed on what caused the generator to catch fire.