Ronnies Cycle in VT ?
01-16-2006, 02:14 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Upstate NY
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Re: Ronnies Cycle in VT ?
BENNINGTON — An early morning blaze destroyed millions of dollars worth of property at Ronnie's Cycle Shop on Route 9 Sunday.
Traffic was diverted around that section of Route 9 for hours while firefighters battled the fire, which left Ronnie's gutted and crumbling.
By afternoon, a pond located across the street from the shop on My Land was drained and about three quarters of the Ronnie's building - a snowmobile, ATV and motorcycle supplier - was torn down to extinguish the fire that started sometime around 7 a.m., according to officials.
Although the pond's supply of water lasted for a while, the freezing cold, iced-up fire equipment and a fully involved building fire were difficult to overcome, said Larry McLeod, Bennington Rural Fire Department's public information officer.
"There was probably a substantial money loss," McLeod said of Ronnie's. "We'll probably have to bring in an excavator to pull apart the building. We hate to do that to a business ... but we need to be able to get to all the fire."
McLeod later said the business owners had estimated their losses to be about $3 to 3.5 million. They estimated $2 million for inventory, $1 million in parts and up to $350,000 for the building, said McLeod. A fire-proof lock box with details of the store's inventory was salvaged from inside the store, though, according to McLeod.
When the fire department arrived, dark smoke was pouring out from underneath the eaves of the building, McLeod said. Gesturing between gusts of opaque smoke, McLeod pointed to the remnants of 12 ATVs, snowmobiles and motorcycles that had been housed inside and were now parked outside the building.
Ronnie Ouimet, owner of the West Road shop, sat in his car staring at what was left of the retail building late Sunday morning. As clouds of steam and smoke funneled high above, he and his sons could do nothing but watch.
"What a wonderful effort by the fire and police departments," said Ouimet from inside his car. "Putting the effort into a building that was obviously beyond control - they're not giving up. We're obviously very disturbed - it's what we've been doing for the last 50 years."
Ouimet also owns Ronnie's Cycles shops on Northside Drive, in Adams, Mass. and in Pittsfield, Mass.
McLeod said the firefighters tried to stop the blaze from within the building when they arrived, but initially had difficulty locating the fire's source, as it had been burning for a bit before it was reported. Firefighters were eventually able to locate the source at the back center of the building, not far from a propane heater, he said.
"We don't know what the cause was. We haven't found any cause yet," said McLeod just before 11 a.m.
Bennington Police Detective Sgt. David S. Rowland, who was called in to determine if the fire appeared suspicious, said no cause was found by 3 p.m., but that were no obvious indicators of arson. There were no footprints in the snow around the building, and the burglar alarm wasn't tripped, Rowland said.
Rowland said that 12 salvaged vehicles included all customer-owned vehicles in for repair. Rowland said owners estimated that 100 machines were lost to the fire and that the fire resulted in more than a million dollars is merchandise and damages.
D.J. Finefrock, who works across the street at Amidon Construction, said he and a coworker smelled and saw smoke coming from Ronnie's before their fire alarms went off sometime after 7 a.m. The friend called 911, said Finefrock. The Bennington Rescue Squad was on standby to assist firefighters suffering from smoke inhalation.
Other local fire departments, including North Bennington, Bennington and Hoosick, N.Y., responded later in the morning, assisting with back-up water supplies and traffic control. The Bennington Police Department is investigating the fire.
Traffic was diverted around that section of Route 9 for hours while firefighters battled the fire, which left Ronnie's gutted and crumbling.
By afternoon, a pond located across the street from the shop on My Land was drained and about three quarters of the Ronnie's building - a snowmobile, ATV and motorcycle supplier - was torn down to extinguish the fire that started sometime around 7 a.m., according to officials.
Although the pond's supply of water lasted for a while, the freezing cold, iced-up fire equipment and a fully involved building fire were difficult to overcome, said Larry McLeod, Bennington Rural Fire Department's public information officer.
"There was probably a substantial money loss," McLeod said of Ronnie's. "We'll probably have to bring in an excavator to pull apart the building. We hate to do that to a business ... but we need to be able to get to all the fire."
McLeod later said the business owners had estimated their losses to be about $3 to 3.5 million. They estimated $2 million for inventory, $1 million in parts and up to $350,000 for the building, said McLeod. A fire-proof lock box with details of the store's inventory was salvaged from inside the store, though, according to McLeod.
When the fire department arrived, dark smoke was pouring out from underneath the eaves of the building, McLeod said. Gesturing between gusts of opaque smoke, McLeod pointed to the remnants of 12 ATVs, snowmobiles and motorcycles that had been housed inside and were now parked outside the building.
Ronnie Ouimet, owner of the West Road shop, sat in his car staring at what was left of the retail building late Sunday morning. As clouds of steam and smoke funneled high above, he and his sons could do nothing but watch.
"What a wonderful effort by the fire and police departments," said Ouimet from inside his car. "Putting the effort into a building that was obviously beyond control - they're not giving up. We're obviously very disturbed - it's what we've been doing for the last 50 years."
Ouimet also owns Ronnie's Cycles shops on Northside Drive, in Adams, Mass. and in Pittsfield, Mass.
McLeod said the firefighters tried to stop the blaze from within the building when they arrived, but initially had difficulty locating the fire's source, as it had been burning for a bit before it was reported. Firefighters were eventually able to locate the source at the back center of the building, not far from a propane heater, he said.
"We don't know what the cause was. We haven't found any cause yet," said McLeod just before 11 a.m.
Bennington Police Detective Sgt. David S. Rowland, who was called in to determine if the fire appeared suspicious, said no cause was found by 3 p.m., but that were no obvious indicators of arson. There were no footprints in the snow around the building, and the burglar alarm wasn't tripped, Rowland said.
Rowland said that 12 salvaged vehicles included all customer-owned vehicles in for repair. Rowland said owners estimated that 100 machines were lost to the fire and that the fire resulted in more than a million dollars is merchandise and damages.
D.J. Finefrock, who works across the street at Amidon Construction, said he and a coworker smelled and saw smoke coming from Ronnie's before their fire alarms went off sometime after 7 a.m. The friend called 911, said Finefrock. The Bennington Rescue Squad was on standby to assist firefighters suffering from smoke inhalation.
Other local fire departments, including North Bennington, Bennington and Hoosick, N.Y., responded later in the morning, assisting with back-up water supplies and traffic control. The Bennington Police Department is investigating the fire.
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