GONE IN 1 HOUR

Sen. JV’s Sequioa is among cars destroyed by fire in high-end auto shop

Two vehicles owned by Senator JV Ejercito were among the vehicles destroyed in the fire that struck a highend auto repair and accessories shop along EDSA in Mandaluyong yesterday.

Two vehicles owned by Sen. JV Ejercito were among the vehicles destroyed in the fire that struck a high-end auto repair and accessories shop on EDSA in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

The fire broke out at 11:35 a.m. at the Autoplus Sportzentrium and quickly spread, further aggravating traffic in the south-bound lane of the thoroughfare, according to the Mandaluyong Bureau of Fire Protection.

Firefighters managed to put out the fire an hour later, but not before reducing the establishment to rubble.

“I feel sad, my car for the past 10 years, my Toyota Sequioa burned in the fire at Autoplus Car Center this morning,” tweeted Ejercito who described it as his “lucky car.”

“Feeling sentimental because we’ve been through so many battles and it was my most reliable, not to mention ‘lucky car.’ Will be missing this car,” he lamented.

Aside from the Sequioa, Ejercito also lost a Ford Everest.

The number of cars destroyed was unavailable, but Facebook photos showed a Porsche 911 and Ford Mustang among the damaged.

Nobody was hurt during the one-hour fire.

Autoplus operations started in 1995 as a car tuning company.

Owned by Carlos Gono, Autoplus earned raves after taking part in the super saloon category of the races held at the Subic International Raceway.

(Mark Balmores) A FORD mustang is visible among the cars destroyed following a fire at the high-end Autoplus car shop along EDSA in Mandaluyong. No one was hurt in the one-hour fire.