Wrecked Vette Wednesday: Chicago Garage Fire Destroys Stingray

Most people prefer to store their cars in garages, kept there for safe keeping from the elements and pesky criminals, but the problem with that is that if something happens to that garage, you’re pretty much out of luck. That’s the situation that one classic Corvette owner is facing in Andersonville, a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois after a multiple garage fire destroyed the car he’d been restoring for over a decade. Check out footage of the fire and aftermath in the NBC Chicago video above.

The fire happened in the late night hours of August 7th. That’s when neighbors awoke to the crackling of fire only to discover it was their garages that were ablaze. Neighbors had noticed a garage door open prior to going to sleep that night and that’s where witnesses say the fire started. Investigators are currently looking into the possibility of arson.

The fire was so large and hot that it damaged six garages, including Ty Hanson’s. Parked inside his garage was a 1975 Stingray that he had been restoring for 15 years. Unfortunately, the fire severely damaged the Corvette, but Hanson seems to be looking on the bright side.

“It’s a car, it can be replaced,” Hanson told NBC. “No one was hurt, that’s the important thing.”

Some of the other garages and vehicles fared far worse than Hanson's Corvette, which looks to have mainly surface and engine damage.

Hanson’s Stingray was one of three cars destroyed in the fire, joining a Ford Explorer and what looks to be a fourth-generation F-body in the wreckage. Of the three vehicles, Hanson’s Corvette seems to have fared the best with the other vehicles charred to piles of ruble. There’s no word if the Corvette can be salvaged or if Hanson will even try.

Unfortunately our cars are never 100 percent safe, no matter how meticulously we work to protect them. We’re just glad that the Andersonville fire was contained to the garages rather than jumping to people’s homes and putting residents in more danger.

About the author

Lindsey Fisher

Lindsey is a freelance writer and lover of anything with a rumble. Hot rods, muscle cars, motorcycles - she's owned and driven it all. When she's not busy writing about them, she's out in her garage wrenching away. Who doesn't love a tech-savy gal that knows her way around a garage?
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