Classic Car Collection Destroyed in Trenton Fire

Sixty years of passion and hard work vanished into the freezing night air for Chuck Hiller on a random Friday night. The Wisconsin resident woke up to the sound of his doorbell ringing frantically and looked outside to see his worst nightmare unfolding. A massive fire had completely engulfed his large shed and was tearing through the vintage Fords parked inside. The bitter cold temperatures made the scene even more difficult for first responders who battled the flames late into the evening. By the time the smoke cleared, Hiller found his life’s work and his entire classic car collection destroyed.

The blaze started around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 23. Neighbors spotted the orange glow against the night sky and alerted Hiller and his wife, Corinne, just in time. Firefighters worked tirelessly through the freezing conditions, but the fire was too intense to save the vehicles. Eleven cars were lost in the inferno, including rare Thunderbirds and Galaxies that Hiller had been collecting and restoring since his youth. The most painful loss was a specific car he purchased back in 1966 when he was just 21 years old. That vehicle had been with him through nearly every stage of his adult life.

The financial toll is massive, with damage estimates climbing near $500,000 for the structure and the rare parts. Investigators believe a stove in the lower level caused the accidental spark that started it all. Hiller is now 80 years old and a cancer survivor. He admits he has not even walked through the wreckage yet because the heartbreak is simply too raw. Seeing his classic car collection destroyed is a reality he is not quite ready to face.

Hiller plans to rebuild a portion of the shed with the help of his son, but he knows his days of restoring vintage iron are likely over. It takes years of patience to bring those machines back to factory condition, and he feels that chapter has officially closed. The local car community mourns the loss of history but is thankful the couple escaped unharmed. It is a somber end for a hobby that spanned six decades, leaving only the painful memory of a classic car collection destroyed.