Alex Trelinski
A FIRECRACKER is suspected of starting a giant blaze that destroyed 17 cars and damaged at least 17 others in a Javea port car park on Saturday.
The Guardia Civil is running an investigation into the incident which started at around 12.45pm at a parking lot close to Calle Muelle Norte.
Many of the vehicle owners were attending a wedding at the port church and exited to see their cars left as a pile of charred remains.
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They said that firecrackers was not thrown by any of the wedding guests- pointing out there was another celebration beforehand.
Fire crews from Denia Park and Benissa were deployed to extinguish the blaze, which took a couple of hours to bring under control.
Staff working on the terrace of the Cantina restaurant saw the fire start.
One of the team, Fredy, told the Levante newspaper: “We saw white smoke coming out from under a car, and my boss and I walked over and there was a cardboard box of rockets that was lit.”
They pulled the box out from under the car and used a fire extinguisher and water to stop it burning, but they noticed that a fire had already broken out in the vehicle.
“Smoke was coming out of the fuel tank part and we immediately callled the Policia Local and we walked away,” Fredy added.
He described the conditions as windy and saw the smoke turning from white to black and flames jumping from one car to another, as tyres and glass started to explode.
In one case the brakes of a Renault Clio had burnt out and the car starting moving like a ‘ball of fire’.
The restaurant had to be closed for three hours and the Guardia Civil will study security camera footage from the building that covers the parking lot.
Meanwhile, the area has attracted visitors wanting to cast their eye over the devastation.
