Two weeks after A. Motor Sales and Gem Buick unveiled $1 million in renovations to their Spring Valley car dealership 30 years ago a fire ripped through the service department.
Nine cars were destroyed there but firefighters from six local departments - with the help of fire doors and walls installed during the renovations - managed to keep the blaze from the showroom, sparing an additional 13 new cars.
The fire began in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, 1996, at the prominent business at Routes 59 and 45.
The business opened in 1957 and recovered after the fire to stay open for another nine years before closing in 2005.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: From the Archives: 1996 Gem Buick fire in Spring Valley
