I am also glad you weren't driving it, or were hurt!
Look at it this way...it's a chance to do all the detailing you never did before!
You had to have had a fuel leak up there, or an electrical short, or BOTH.

I had an Eldorado that I came home in one day, parked in the driveway, and went to the barn to look for a trailer hitch I had. When I walked back around to the front of the house(maybe 5 minutes), that turd was-a-blazin!!
I'm sure that one was an electrical fire. Someone had just installed a new engine before I bought it, and I was having trouble with the alternator.

Hope it's not too bad, tho Dave...don't give up on the old girl yet!!

wow, i had a fire in my 69 too,only a couple blocks from my house, a pop pop,then smoke in the console! i got out lifted the hood huge flames,noextinguisher i used water from a kiddy pool to put it out. i just went on a 90 mile roundtrip if it had happened earlier it would have burnt to the ground,i also carry an extinguisher now. thank goodness the hood opened straight up no body damage,i just started replacing stuff that was melted,my poor shielding!!!

As your friend in the insurance business, dont clean the car.  Call your agent.  Have them see the thing as-is. 

Sorry to hear about your fire.
I will put the fire extinghishers in the garage closer to my Vette tonight.

if you put one in garage make sure its at least a 15lb or bigger,,abc,dry powder.if you have to use it point it at base of fire not at flames,,  and turn upside down& knock on bottom with a RUBBER HAMMER  once a month ,the powder settles to bottom with time and won`t work  properly,  all ( inside house and car )should be done this way,

Great News!
    Now that all is calmed down, and i got a good look at it, the damage is minor (other than the motor).  Basically, a new battery cable, rewire the starter wires, radiator hoses, I am set,  except for the motor.  (see new post for my idea on that).  I turned it over today, and its still definitely pouring out of the head gasket on the drivers side.    Most of the damage that i noticed was things on the motor itself  (plug wires, vacuum lines, etc.), along with my brand new Carb .   Oh, and the inside fender skirts.
   I do want to say thanks to Jim (74stingray454), your advice to stop take a breath and access the situation.  I needed to hear that.  Those who saw the flames and damage all were telling me to dump the car.  I may have given in to peer pressure and appearances if you didn't advise otherwise.  Just one of those things were emotions and pressure would have made for a bad decision.  It all looks much worse than it is, with the extinguisher mess, soot on the paint, hood insulation damage and all.
   Kebo- Just out of curiosity, what is the real insurance value of a 74, stock 350 4 speed?  Does number matching make a difference on insurance value?  By the way, my insurance said that due to  it being  a mechanical problem with the motor, they wont cover the motor damage, but would the rest (if it was totaled, they would the motor too?)  At least thats what my agent told me.  With it being so minor under those conditions, i won't file a claim then.
    Thanks everybody for the concerns, please, please do learn from my mishap: Put plenty of fire extinguishes around your cars!

this spring i was under the vette doing a lubing all the joints and i noticed that my main battery cable was loose, corroded and frayed exposing wires. that surely could have caused a fire- an old greasy oil engine, not to mention how close the connection is to the fuel pump and lines. i promptly replaced the cable with a fresh new cable. now my battery doesnt drain down like it used to.

it is so important to really go over your cars and look for that stuff. it seems that it takes little for a vette to go up. there is nothing worse than seeing a corvette burn down to the ground. (fiberglass burns suprisingly well!)