Groton Blaze Destroys Historic Blood Farm Butchery
GROTON (CBS) -- It took more than 30 firefighters four hours to put out the flames at Blood Farm early Sunday morning, Groton Fire Department officials said.
The blaze started in the longtime butchery's smokehouse and quickly spread to the butcher shop, where Dick Blood has worked his whole life. The fire even took over the office where his son manages orders and paperwork.
"'It's all I've ever done, and we're good at it," Blood said of the historic business.
Six generations of labor at Blood Farm and hundreds of years of history have been reduced to burnt wood and twisted metal.
Blood Farm is just one of two U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified butcheries in the state. Blood said his family has been running the business in Groton since the 1700s.
"It's an icon," he said. "I mean, everybody knows about Blood Farm."
Fire Department officials do not suspect foul play, but they are still trying to figure out what sparked the blaze.
In the meantime, Blood has one thing on his mind. "Rebuilding, because we will get there," he said. "I think the Phoenix will rise."
WBZ-TV's Whitney Burbank contributed to this report.
