Photo by Darin Hinman
By Liz Page
STAMFORD - Officials are still investigating the cause of a fire that heavily damaged two historic Main Street buildings in the village of Stamford last Friday night. The fire has displaced nearly 30 people from 11 apartments and two businesses located at 60 and 64 Main St.. The buildings are a total loss and will be razed at some point, according to officials.
Fortunately, firefighters were able to keep the fire from extending to any other buildings, some just feet away from the inferno as an audience of hundreds stood along Main Street. People watched in awe as the fire raged. Social media blew up with photos and comments as the battle went on for the next 10 hours.
There has been an outpouring from Stamford and surrounding communities, from offers of places to stay, to donations of household goods and clothing. The most critical need is permanent housing.
The village of Stamford has been attempting to help people. They are at capacity with household donations, keeping the village hall open over the weekend for people to drop off donations. Village Treasurer Sandra Collins said people have been asking for non-perishable foods. She said gift cards and monetary donations also help a great deal. She said they have also been contacted for the bigger household items, such as chairs, couches and beds. They are taking names and phone numbers for those items, to help those displaced once they find another apartment. Anyone who has accommodations, apartments or household items is asked to contact the Stamford Village Hall (607) 652-6671 or email clerk @stamfordny.com with a list of what you wish to donate along with your contact information. "There is a shortage of apartments in the area currently," said Collins. "If anyone has an apartment to rent, they could call us with that information as well."
There were no serious injuries resulting from the fire. All of the occupants were able to get out. Two tenants and two firefighters received non-life-threatening injuries. One firefighter received a minor concussion from falling debris and another twisted his ankle, according to VanEtten. Firefighters rescued two cats, a pair of birds, a lizard and a dog.
Firefighters worked into the wee hours of Saturday morning, attempting to douse all of the remaining hot spots. However, they would be called back twice for rekindles.
The original call went out at 5:48 p.m. Friday and Stamford firefighters arrived within two minutes of the call, the first ones on the scene confirming the two five-story buildings were fully involved. Chief Don VanEtten said he began the process of calling in mutual aid from all neighboring departments and beyond.
"We had heavy fire in both buildings. I began to call for mutual aid and internal attack personnel, plus engines and aerials, fast teams, tankers and engines.
Water supplies, in addition to the village hydrants, were established at Rexmere pond and at a dry hydrant on Blackberry Street.
"We got water on it quickly and we initially did an exterior attack. Once we had the manpower, we attempted an interior attack, but the flames and floor failure on the second floor pushed us back out of the buildings," said VanEtten.
Aerial apparatus responded from Oneonta, Margaretville, Delhi, Cobleskill and Stamford.
"We couldn't sustain enough water to keep all five aerial trucks supplied," said VanEtten
He said it was the most difficult fire he has fought in his 26 years with the department. Not only from a logistical point, but also because he is a part owner of the 64 Main Street building. He was concerned about the tenants getting out safely; there were power lines and exposure to several other buildings. He said he had to put his emotions aside to tend to the job at hand, keeping the fire contained. The fire threatened the entire block. Eventually at least 100 firefighters would arrive to do battle. It involved 21 departments in four counties, either responding or on stand-by.
Route 23 was closed down for several hours and traffic detoured around several blocks of Main Street. Businesses and people got to work quickly to set up for rehab and aid first responders. Everyone pitched in to help. Stamford Cafe opened and served as a rehab station, and John's Tavern put out beverages and food. TP's Cafe, MacAdoodles, Stewarts, Tops Market and Don's Dairy all provided food to the scene along with the fire department and many individuals.
Also helping at the scene were New York State Police, the state Department of Transportation, Schoharie County Fire Coordinators Office, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and Delaware County Department of Emergency Services.
Firefighters were called for a rekindle at around 9 a.m. Saturday morning and remained on the scene again until around 4 p.m.. Some residents returned to the scene on Saturday and firefighters were able to remove any belongings that were salvageable from their apartments, once they doused several hot spots in both buildings. That's when Moses the lizard was found underneath some rubble in one of the apartments. Two birds also survived the night in one of the apartments. It provided a bit of a bright spot from the devastation and loss, according to one of the firefighters working at the scene.
The apartment dwellers and building owners are attempting to conclude investigation into the cause of the fire and to make arrangements to have the buildings razed.
Water and sewer have now been shut off to the two buildings.
A third building at 66 Main Street, although just feet from 64 Main Street, did not suffer any damage and residents were able to return to that building once power was restored, according to VanEtten. Several buildings were without power Friday night, related to the fire. There were buildings in the rear of 60 and 64 Main St. that were within feet of the two buildings on fire. Fortunately, firefighters were able to prevent them from burning.
Windstar Realty was located at 64 Main Street where six families were displaced.
Lost at 60 Main Street is the Half Acres Catskill restaurant where five families were displaced.
The building at 60 Main St. was once known as The Ritz Restaurant and was constructed in 1888 to house George H. Hager's Drugs and Groceries. It was designed and built by George Gibbs, one of Stamford's most industrious residents. He was a judge, politician, entrepreneur, builder and supervising architect for the Rexmere Hotel and Churchill Cottages, among others. There was a fire in the Ritz building in the 1980's, but the building was repaired and the restaurant reopened. It has seen various owners since.
"The loss of these two buildings involving both residential and commercial spaces is a severe blow to the village. In addition to their historic significance, it's a terrible loss for our village's Main Street," said Mayor Robert Schneider.
"The outpouring of generosity from our village and greater Catskills region has been truly amazing. The Stamford Village Hall has become a repository for thousands of items including clothing, toiletries, non perishable foods, household goods and many more items that cannot be listed here. These items have been distributed to the victims of the fire and will continue to be made available during village hall hours, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday and any time by appointment. As of now we do not have room for any more donations but will take an accounting of anything offered and do our best to match those things with those in need. T
"The village clerk and treasurer together with volunteers from the village have overseen this effort and have organized all of the donated items in such a way that they are easily identified. The village has received offers of aid from Delaware County, Stamford Central School and our Congressional District office as well as private businesses and individuals. We are blessed to live in a community that is so willing to reach out and help their neighbors in need. All persons displaced by the fire have places to stay. Some of these lodgings are temporary, so there is work to be done to find permanent situations for many individuals. The Delaware County Department of Social Services is helping on this front but rental housing is challenging to find as we all know. The incredible strength of our community has been demonstrated at this moment of loss, I have every confidence that we will make it through this challenging time."
In the days that have followed the fire, benefits have been organized to help the fire victims. Stamford Fire Loss is a Facebook page where many have been posting, including individual Go Fund Me pages established by family members. People are offering help with clothing and household items. There were offers from the Hidden Inn, Hannah Mountain Resort and Country Club and the Andes Hotel for rooms at no cost.
TP's Cafe has been collecting donations for the 11 families affected by the fire. They are still collecting and information is available at T.P.'s Cafe´ Facebook page. They also offered free meals to those affected by the fire. The Hidden Inn is collecting cash donations to the victims and The Belvedere held a fundraiser to benefit the fire victims on Thursday. There will be benefit chicken barbecue in front of Freshtown in Margaretville at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 9 and a Holiday Open Mic at The Gallery at 128 Main Street in Stamford. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., snacks at 6 p.m. and concert at 7 p.m. You are asked to bring a dish or snack to pass and a monetary donation to benefit the Stamford Fire Victims. It will feature a holiday sing along with Miss Pam.
Delaware County has also been involved in the effort. "Many offers to donate clothing, household products or supplies have been pouring in. In an effort to coordinate these donations the Delaware County Office Building at 111 Main Street in Delhi will accept donations at the Security desk. Delaware County staff will coordinate with the Village of Stamford to deliver the donations and distribute them," states a release.
Delaware County also released a list of contacts for those who are in need of help, including the Delaware County Supervisor's office at (607) 832-5110 where they will direct you to the appropriate agency for your needs. You can also go to the Delaware County Webpage to seek out services provided. All contact information is listed there for any agency or department you may need at
https://www.delcony.us
Delaware County Social Services(607) 832-5300; Delaware County Office for the Aging(607) 832-5750; Delaware County Veterans Services Agency(607) 832-5345; Delaware County Mental Health (607) 832-5888; Delaware County Public Health (607) 832-5200 Delaware County Economic Development (607) 832-5123 and Delaware Opportunities (607) 746-1600.
"Again we are extremely grateful for all first responders that aided during the fire. It is truly miraculous that no lives were lost and damages were reduced as best as could be hoped for. It is a testament to the volunteers and emergency service agencies in Delaware and our neighboring rural counties," concluded the release.
It is a comment that has been reflected over and over again. As people looked on in horror as the fire threatened to get out of hand, they marveled at the fact that firefighters were able to stop the blaze from damaging other buildings and that there was no loss of life.
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