BATAVIA, N.Y. – A family-owned business in Batavia burned to the ground on Friday night, leaving the community in shock.
Hodgins Engraving Company, a nearly 70-year-old business, was destroyed in a massive chemical fire.
Firefighters battled the blaze for almost 12 hours before it was fully extinguished.
News10NBC visited Batavia to gather community reactions to the loss.
“It was like a whole lot of smoke. The entire sky over there was like, gray and black, and there was a whole lot of cop cars and fire department cars,” said Izzy Scott, who works nearby at Dave’s Ice Cream.
Rena Demay, a neighbor, expressed her disbelief at the devastation. “They worked so hard in this place. But I just wish that everything was better. But to look at all this. Oh my goodness. It’s devastating. I just can’t believe this,” said Demay.
Demay shared that the fire brought back painful memories of a fire at her own home. “That really hurt me, I cried. I lost a lot of weight. I would hardly eat. I even had a bad dream about it…and it reminded me of this. Oh, God. That hurts. It really does,” she said.
Part-time employee Ryan Floyd was taken aback by the news. “My girlfriend saw on Facebook that, you know, this address was engulfed in flames. She was like, isn’t that where you work? And I’m like, yeah,” Floyd said.
Floyd mentioned that while he found new employment, his former coworkers face uncertainty. “They sent out a group text this morning to all the employees. And as far as they know, they’re kind of waiting to see what happens. But in the meantime, they told everyone to file for unemployment…Sad for the family,” said Floyd.
The Genesee County Office of Emergency Management will handle the investigation, officials said.
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‘It’s devastating. I just can’t believe this’: Neighbors and former employees shocked by fire that burned down Hodgins Engraving Company WHEC.com.
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