By all accounts at the fire scene today, Speedy Greco was quite a character -- he sold cars and Airstream trailers, collected antiques and raced cars.
He also had a bit of money and built himself one heck of a sturdy building at 1606 Broadway, Darien.
That strong construction made it difficult for firefighters from Darien, Corfu, Town of Batavia, Alden, Bethany, Attica, East Pembroke and Bennington to fight a fire that had climbed into the roof of Speedy's former car dealership.
The wood on the roof was at least four inches thick, possibly six inches in some places. That made it hard to vent the roof and get water onto hot spots.
The building, now owned by M & M Fabricating, Inc., was heavily damaged as a result.
M & M is a metal fabrication business.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
There were no reported injuries. The fire was reported at 2:45 p.m.
Assisting at the scene were the Sheriff's Office, City of Batavia's Fast Team, Mercy EMS and Genesee Emergency Management.
To purchase prints of these photos, click here.
Speed was most assuredly a
Speed was most assuredly a unique character
I was involved in the
I was involved in the construction of this building.
I carried almost every brick and block to the three masons who were erecting the walls. (Gary Hickey of Darien, Duane Leo, who recently retired from the City of Batavia water dept., and Fritz Smykowski(deceased) who was a past owner of Fritz's Parkerhouse on 77 in Darien which has been demolished.)
The front of the building was constructed with concrete block with a brick exterior. The side walls were constructed with 'dike' blocks weighing approx. 80# each. Speedy somehow finangled these from somebody in the Corp of Engineers.
If I remember correctly, the arched roof trusses were salvaged from the rollerdrome which was located on Genesee St. just east of the airport.
Dave is right about Speedy being a character. I could write a book about some of his exploits.
He and his brother carried a vendetta against each other for years. I don't remember which was the instigator but one of them had a vintage convertible stored somewhere. The other located it and had the entire vehicle filled with cement. This was just one of the many exploits of the Greco brothers.
Mike, great memories to share
Mike, great memories to share ... thanks ... very interesting.