Firefighters got the call after 8pm last night. Authorities say when the first crews arrived, the building was already fully engulfed. The fire grew to five alarms with crews from 11 different departments responding.
Authorities say one of the big challenges in the fighting the fire was that there are no hydrants in the rural area so water had to be trucked in.
About 150 classic cars were inside the building the building that burned.
The roof of the building collapsed during the fire onto the cars. It took crews until about 11pm last night to get the fire under control.
The business, located off Interstate 55 about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis, is known locally for its impressive display of more than 650 classic cars and trucks.
For a look at what they used to have for sale:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/massive-fire-damages-staunton-s-country-classic-cars/article_1b0d481b-560a-5e40-b9e6-2de3dd28d974.html
http://fox2now.com/2017/08/09/fire-heavily-damages-country-classic-cars-in-staunton/
http://thetelegraph.com/news/106861/fire-destroys-country-classic-cars-dozens-of-antique-vehicles-in-staunton
http://fox2now.com/2017/08/09/fire-heavily-damages-country-classic-cars-in-staunton/
For a look at how amazing they were http://carzhunt.blogspot.com/2017/03/country-classics-yes-you-have-seen-them.html
Arrghh...!
ReplyDeleteI was there with friends from Peru, IL in 2002. What a mess !
I remember... I put a new Kokak roll in my camera and forgot the other roll full with photos on the top of a car outside. When we returned to our friends home, we called the Country Classic Cars staff and they found the roll. They send it in an envelope to us. Very nice people. Hope they will recover from that fire.
That's enough to make a grown man cry.
ReplyDeleteI cruise their inventory via internet. So many cars to fall in love with. My favorite was a black 1974 Ford Thunderbird. I keep looking to see if it survived. Very sad situation - so many beautiful cars.
ReplyDelete