Grove Street Fire

Just as the sounds of train whistles are commonplace for those that live near the Mohawk River, the sounds of sirens emanating from police cars, fire engines and ambulances are often dismissed by the residents as Grove Street is routinely used as an emergency response route.

This morning around 9am was different as the traffic backed up and motorists began turning around going back the wrong way down this one way street.  That is what alerted me to the early morning fire at 76 Grove Street, a deteriorating Victorian  that was once the location of a popular florist.  A boarded up greenhouse flanking the main residence is all that is left of the old business. The locals watched from the street as the Amsterdam Fire Department responded with a ladder truck to the 2nd floor of the building. There was no evidence of flames or smoke, so I assume it was a small fire that was quickly contained. GVAC stood by waiting for any victims needing medical attention and from what I could tell, there were none.  Although the Amsterdam Police responded to the scene, they just watched the firefighters instead of directing traffic as the entire street was blocked with emergency vehicles. A greater tragedy could have occurred if one of the many vehicles that decided to turn around and illegally travel the wrong way down the one way street caused an accident.

Gazette reporter Ed Munger, Jr. was on the scene and will have more details of the structure fire. I recorded the following images of the fire.

This overview from Montgomery County Image Mate online service shows the other buildings of this once former nursery and greenhouse property at 76 Grove Street.