GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – A large fire damaged a 35-year-old greenhouse in Grand Haven. The flames started around 3:00 AM Sunday morning, causing more than a million dollars in damage to the Spring Meadow Nursery.
Located off 120th Avenue, it spans more than 40 acres. The owner of the business says he got an early morning call letting him know there was a structure fire. Crews were able to contain the flames to the office building.
"If we did lose the green house facility itself, it would have taken a full year to replace those plants," says Dale Deppe, owner of Spring Meadow Nursery, "Something north of 20 million could have been lost in product sales."
Deppe says the plants they grow are used for landscaping, and supply whole sale nurseries across the country.
"It was good news when we got there, in spite of the fact that we lost the office completely. But it could have been a lot worse," said Deppe.
Deppe says the computer servers are also backed up on a hard drive that he takes home every weekend as a precaution in case of an emergency like this.
Deppe says the business is fully covered by insurance, and until a new office is built, the company will use another building to work out of.
"It's pretty meaningless in the scope of life. Life's more about people than buildings," said Deppe.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Employees are expected to return to work on Tuesday.
