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Community Regroups In Wake Of Groton Fire
Destroyed Building's Owner, Tenants Get Help While Coping With Loss
By Katie Warchut , Published on 1/11/2008
Groton — Standing in front of the rubble of his father's old store, Jim Streeter could still make out the outline of the 581/2-pound striped bass his father had caught and proudly mounted on the wall.
After a fire gutted Ken's Tackle Shop on Thames Street Wednesday, Streeter stayed late into the night, watching a large crane slowly chew the roof apart until the former landmark was reduced to a pile of debris.
Streeter took up his post again Thursday afternoon, slightly red-eyed, a camera around his neck. He and his sister, Dorothy Streeter, who ran the store, waited for an OK from the Groton City fire chief to go in to salvage anything from the rear of the building, which is still standing.
“It's been overwhelming with the number of people that came to pay their respects,†said Jim Streeter, who is also a town councilor. “You're really part of the woodwork of the city.â€
Not only did the family lose mementos like the bass and antique fishing reels, Streeter said, they also lost the value of 50 years of building their business. The shop was Dorothy's whole life, he said.
One onlooker handed Dorothy a sign covered in brick dust that said: “Believe in fish.†She thanked him, and tossed it back on top of the brick pile.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No one was injured. Power to the neighborhood was restored at 7:10 a.m. Thursday, and Thames Street opened shortly before 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, people offered extraordinary kinds of help to the tenants of the building, whose apartments were also ruined in the fire.
One tenant was a sailor aboard the USS Dallas, which was heading out to sea for local operations Wednesday, a Navy spokesman said. Sailors standing on top of the submarine noticed the smoke billowing from Groton and recognized the area as a fellow crewmember's home. The Navy turned the sub around so a tug could take the sailor back to the Naval Submarine Base, where his wife was waiting for him.
Other tenants, who lived in three of the four apartments above the store, stayed at the Thames Inn & Marina next door, or with family or friends. The American Red Cross provided them with clothes, food and bedding.
One man, who declined to give his name, sat on a bench outside the inn rather than go to work, just looking at the torn-up remains of the building that had been home for 15 years.
The owner of the building, John Syragakis, said he was letting his tenants stay for no charge at the inn, which he also owns. He said he plans to offer them apartments in other buildings he owns in the city and to give them a couple of months' rent off and some furniture, because most were not insured.
Syragakis hopes to rebuild, using whatever remaining bricks and granite he can to preserve the historic character of the building.
The building at 213 Thames St. was built around 1900. Kenneth Streeter first opened the shop in a building further south on Thames Street. Shortly after he moved the store in 1984, a fire destroyed its former location, said Streeter, who is also a local historian.
The building that burned Wednesday was first owned by Carlos Allyn and was used as a grocery store, Streeter said. It has housed a First National Bank, Beit Brothers grocery store and a furniture store, among others.
The close-knit business community around the former building also regrouped Thursday. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to Studio M, a year-old business that is about six feet away from the tackle shop.
“The whole place would've just been ruined,†said Mara Beckwith, who sells her own art and custom frames.
“It's a pretty close neighborhood, so it's hard to see them take a hit,†said Dorothy Fidrych, who owns Paul's Pasta along with her husband, Paul. She said calls came pouring in about their welfare, adding that the restaurant was not affected by the nearby blaze.
“We were all very lucky,†she said.
The remaining portion of the burned-out building will be torn down at a later date, fire officials said.
Destroyed Building's Owner, Tenants Get Help While Coping With Loss
By Katie Warchut , Published on 1/11/2008
Groton — Standing in front of the rubble of his father's old store, Jim Streeter could still make out the outline of the 581/2-pound striped bass his father had caught and proudly mounted on the wall.
After a fire gutted Ken's Tackle Shop on Thames Street Wednesday, Streeter stayed late into the night, watching a large crane slowly chew the roof apart until the former landmark was reduced to a pile of debris.
Streeter took up his post again Thursday afternoon, slightly red-eyed, a camera around his neck. He and his sister, Dorothy Streeter, who ran the store, waited for an OK from the Groton City fire chief to go in to salvage anything from the rear of the building, which is still standing.
“It's been overwhelming with the number of people that came to pay their respects,†said Jim Streeter, who is also a town councilor. “You're really part of the woodwork of the city.â€
Not only did the family lose mementos like the bass and antique fishing reels, Streeter said, they also lost the value of 50 years of building their business. The shop was Dorothy's whole life, he said.
One onlooker handed Dorothy a sign covered in brick dust that said: “Believe in fish.†She thanked him, and tossed it back on top of the brick pile.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No one was injured. Power to the neighborhood was restored at 7:10 a.m. Thursday, and Thames Street opened shortly before 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, people offered extraordinary kinds of help to the tenants of the building, whose apartments were also ruined in the fire.
One tenant was a sailor aboard the USS Dallas, which was heading out to sea for local operations Wednesday, a Navy spokesman said. Sailors standing on top of the submarine noticed the smoke billowing from Groton and recognized the area as a fellow crewmember's home. The Navy turned the sub around so a tug could take the sailor back to the Naval Submarine Base, where his wife was waiting for him.
Other tenants, who lived in three of the four apartments above the store, stayed at the Thames Inn & Marina next door, or with family or friends. The American Red Cross provided them with clothes, food and bedding.
One man, who declined to give his name, sat on a bench outside the inn rather than go to work, just looking at the torn-up remains of the building that had been home for 15 years.
The owner of the building, John Syragakis, said he was letting his tenants stay for no charge at the inn, which he also owns. He said he plans to offer them apartments in other buildings he owns in the city and to give them a couple of months' rent off and some furniture, because most were not insured.
Syragakis hopes to rebuild, using whatever remaining bricks and granite he can to preserve the historic character of the building.
The building at 213 Thames St. was built around 1900. Kenneth Streeter first opened the shop in a building further south on Thames Street. Shortly after he moved the store in 1984, a fire destroyed its former location, said Streeter, who is also a local historian.
The building that burned Wednesday was first owned by Carlos Allyn and was used as a grocery store, Streeter said. It has housed a First National Bank, Beit Brothers grocery store and a furniture store, among others.
The close-knit business community around the former building also regrouped Thursday. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to Studio M, a year-old business that is about six feet away from the tackle shop.
“The whole place would've just been ruined,†said Mara Beckwith, who sells her own art and custom frames.
“It's a pretty close neighborhood, so it's hard to see them take a hit,†said Dorothy Fidrych, who owns Paul's Pasta along with her husband, Paul. She said calls came pouring in about their welfare, adding that the restaurant was not affected by the nearby blaze.
“We were all very lucky,†she said.
The remaining portion of the burned-out building will be torn down at a later date, fire officials said.