Demolition crews ripped down what was left of a restaurant that was destroyed in a fire in downtown Milford, Massachusetts Monday night. The Turtle Tavern had just been passed down to a third generation of the family who owns it. They just did renovations to the bar in August, and now the entire building is being demolished.

"I am just so emotional with everything we put into this place," said owner Sue Tourtellot. "It was my husband's grandfather, and now it's his father's, and now he took it over for three generations. It would have been 30 years next year, and we were going to have a big celebration." 

Restaurant, apartments destroyed by fire

Her son first heard that the bar may be on fire and told Sue and her husband. They didn't believe it until they started getting calls. The location is not just their business, but Tourtellot's in-laws live in the apartment above the bar. 

"All we wanted to do was just find them, which we did, and everyone is safe thank God," said Tourtellot. 

On Tuesday, crews began tearing down the building as the Tourtellot family watched and recorded it on their phones. 

The building sits across the street from a fire house, but the Milford fire chief says circumstances weren't in their favor. 

"Half of our on-duty shift was on Route 495 for a vehicle accident at the time of the fire, so I had one company to respond from Station 1 across the street," said Milford Fire Chief Mark Nelson. "It's a big loss for the community, and when you have residents and small business owners that lose their livelihood and home it's devastating for them." 

The cause of the fire is undetermined. The Tourtellots hope to rebuild the bar, so they can carry on the legacy. 

"My son, my daughter, we want to give it to them, so it's definitely something that we are not going to just walk away from," explains Tourtellot. "The town and everyone reaching out, 'Thank you. It means a lot.' Hopefully we can get this back, rebuild and come back better."