More than 150 classic cars have been destroyed by a huge fire in Staunton, Illinois.

On Tuesday evening, firefighters in the area responded to calls of a blaze at County Classic Cars and by the time they arrived, parts of the warehouse and showroom were already engulfed in flames, The Telegraph reports.

According to Staunton Fire Protection District chief Rick Haase, approximately 90 to 100 firefighters from 13 different departments responded to the blaze. However, attempts to control the inferno were hampered by the fact that the nearest fire hydrant was located about a mile away, forcing 15-20 tankers to run between the hydrant and the blaze for hours.

“Once we eventually lost that water supply we were playing catch up for the rest of the night. “It eventually spread to the entire building. It had such a head start on us when we got there,” Haase explained.

Fire crews managed to control the fire by 10:30 pm but by then, most of the facility had been destroyed. According to Haase, one of the contributing factors for the intensity and speed of the fire was the fact that the large warehouse was constructed predominantly from wood and that there were no fire stops within.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire but say even figuring out where the blaze started will be a challenge.

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