BURGHILL Fire destroys storage facility

There were about 30 vehicles and 15 boats inside.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BURGHILL -- Federal investigators were on the scene this morning probing a blaze at a car and boat storage facility that officials say may have caused $1 million in losses Thursday night.
Frank D'Alesio, resident agent in charge of the Youngstown office of the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said his agents were requested by the Burghill-Vernon Volunteer Fire Department to help find a cause. He said the Mahoning County Metro Arson Task Force would be on the scene today to assist the ATF.
The blaze broke out in the state Route 7 facility about 7 p.m. and was fully involved when firefighters arrived, said assistant Fire Chief Larry Foltz.
Losses
Foltz said there were about 30 vehicles and 15 boats inside the one-story structure, Kerfoot Boat and Car Storage, 4962 Route 7, at the time of the fire. The destroyed vehicles included Corvettes and a Dodge Viper that Foltz valued at about $80,000. All watercraft and vehicles in the facility were destroyed; some melted.
Although Foltz did not have an estimate of damage, he said an Ohio State Highway Patrolman at the scene Thursday night estimated it at about $1 million.
Volunteer firefighters from 10 departments, including some from Pennsylvania, fought the blaze, but Foltz said firefighters never had a chance to save anything.
Owner
Angelena Kerfoot, who owns the structure, which is in a field behind her home, said the building was insured but she is uncertain about the vehicles. Kerfoot said she had cautioned customers to keep their property insured although it was in storage.
Kerfoot explained that the building, a one-time chicken coop that housed about 10,000 birds, was renovated last year with new aluminum siding and a roof.
Kerfoot lost a 1958 Buick. "It was in good shape. Nobody ever used it," she said.
"A woman can't get the car out of the building," she said, referring to the size and weight of the vehicle. "All I had to do was put plates on it and drive it off."
Kerfoot, whose son had boats, cars and other equipment in the building, has been operating the storage facility for more than 20 years. She explained the building had electrical service but no furnace.