COLUMBUS – Tuesday night, a wood stove fire destroyed the Sweet’s Station Florist shop.

Chenango County Fire Coordinator Matthew L. Beckwith said the business caught fire at around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, originating from a deteriorating stove pipe.

Fire departments from three different counties – Chenango, Madison and Otsego – responded to the blaze at 6332 State Route 8 in the hamlet of West Edmeston, closing the road for about four and a half hours.

The two-story house used to be the owner’s residence and still had upstairs bedrooms, explained Beckwith. No one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.

The first West Edmeston firemen on the scene reported the structure heavily involved with flames coming out the building’s front windows. The Pittsfield, Leonardsville, New Berlin and South New Berlin Fire Departments also responded.

Fire investigators later traced the cause to a wood stove in the front section of the flower shop.