VIDEO: At least six fire departments responded to a structure fire in Elizabethtown Tuesday morning that burned down a historic funeral home.
A call was placed sometime before 2:45 a.m. Essex County dispatch confirmed that the fire started at a commercial residence on Court Street. Images provided to NBC5 showed the Elizabethtown Volunteer Fire Department putting out flames near the Heidrick Funeral Home.
By 6 a.m., dispatch confirmed that the fire was out, but crews were still on the scene to clean up the area. At 7:10 a.m., the Heidrick Funeral Home released a statement on social media, saying that the fire had caused catastrophic damage.
“Heidrick Funeral Home is still open for business,” the statement read. “Our commitment to the Elizabethtown community and surrounding areas remains unshaken.”
Owners Jerod and Chris Heidrick said they are making arrangements in alternate locations to keep the business running. They also said they already made plans to rebuild. The funeral home was set to celebrate its 196th anniversary this year. The Heidrick family also said it was the longest continually operating family-owned funeral home in New York State and one of the ten oldest in the entire United States.
The owners confirmed that no one was injured as a result of the fire. They also thanked the numerous volunteer firefighters and emergency responders that answered the call overnight.
