March 18, 2014 Ovid’s Main Street Fire

In 2014 there were three fire fighters living at my house, my not quite 2-year old granddaughter and myself. Tuesday is Interlaken Fire Department’s meeting and training night, so by 5:30 the discussion of dinner and how soon it would be ready was normal.

The sound of pagers going off and tones dropping on the old scanner brought everyone to a halt, and then the three of them were out the door. As I listened to the scanner, it was clear this would be a long night. We could only pray everyone would be safe.

One of the benefits of having your granddaughter living with you, I didn’t have to wonder if I had overnight supplies; they were at hand. Nor was there a question in my mind of where Dani would sleep that night. I needed to be able to hear and respond if she woke up, so we cuddled and fell asleep.

It was late when the text message came in that all were safe and doing their assigned tasks. It was well after one when the dogs woke up, wanting to go out, and someone opened my door enough to let them out. Then the sound of showers, and eventually all was quiet again.

In the days that followed the discussion of the long night was told and retold. There were pictures in the paper and on Facebook. Driving through Ovid meant looking at the destruction, and being thankful. Buildings can be rebuilt; businesses can be re-established. You can’t replace family mementos, but with family safe you can begin again.

In that long evening of battling an inferno the hours and days of training paid off. The respect for officers and volunteers who came from all over to work together to save what could be saved is truly the story of that night.

Following is one of the on-line reports of that fire. It details who arrived and what was done. It also shows the difference, and yes, the similarities, of fighting a fire in 2014 or 1939. Mutual aid and working together are the same; the location and type of trucks are really the main differences.

Seneca Street side of the fire

Interlaken Engine 503 on Seneca Street, Seneca Falls Arial ladder truck in the background.
Photos by Karen Nelson

A general-alarm fire in downtown Ovid, NY, on March 18, 2014, destroyed three mixed-use buildings that contained three businesses and several apartments. More than 250 firefighters responded to the fire, which caused over $750,000 in damage. An extensive tanker shuttle was required to supply the water needed for firefighting operations.

The two-story structures were of Type III ordinary construction, built in the late 1870s. They occupied a total of 12,780 square feet and contained three businesses on the first floor; the New Dragon Chinese Restaurant, the Joint Assessment Group and the Italian Kitchen, a restaurant; and seven apartments on the second floor. Resources from eight counties were required at the scene or in standby capacities.

The Ovid Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire at the New Dragon Chinese Restaurant at 7188 South Main St. at 5:45 P.M. Ovid responded with Engine 1102, Tanker/Pumper 1101 and Quint 1131 with 15 firefighters under the command of Fire Chief William J. Palmer Sr. Automatic mutual aid was also dispatched. Responding were Lodi Fire Department Engines 801 and 802 and Tanker 821; Interlaken Fire Department Pumper/Tankers 501 and 503; and Romulus Fire Department Engine 1301 and Tanker 1321

Click here to read the full report on the fire.

Dewitt’s Diary: March 18, 1936
The worst ice storm on everything this morning I ever seen. Hundreds of trees broke. All telephone and lights out of commission. Getting worse. 
Terrible floods all over the eastern U.S. 15-20 inches of snow in Buffalo. Rain and freezing all day and tonight.