Keefer Kars, up in flames

MONTICELLO, NY — In just under four hours, the decade of work Charles Jones poured into his automotive business trickled down the driveway ashen gray.

Jones, owner of Keefer Kars on Cooper Corners Road near Monticello, left his restoration shop at 11:00 p.m. on December 5. By 2:45 a.m. the 100-by-40-foot building was in flames, visible from Route 17B where a passerby called 911.

Everything in the vintage car restoration business was lost in the fire, from tools and equipment to paperwork and keys to the used cars that lined the property.

A few charred timbers still stood and in one corner, the remains of a car remained fixed to a lift, both destroyed.

At press time, Jones was still too upset to talk about the fire. An employee of the business said that Jones was considering opening another shop, but didn’t know where or when. A mechanic at the shop said he lost approximately $3,000 worth of equipment and tools; nothing was salvageable.