On the scene and on the job Delphi Tri-Township Volunteer Fire Territory Chief Denny Randle and assistant chief Daryl Sterrett met Friday with building owner George Kerlin and former upstairs tenant Jim Griffith to discuss the aftermath of the fire at the Kerlin Building. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe The fire last Wednesday at the Office Tavern in Delphi was certainly a loss to the city because of its historical significance, but it was also a loss to the building and business owners that day. Now that the initial emergency is over, the fire scene has to be managed, investigated and resolved. That is the daunting task that faces the Delphi Tri-Township Fire Territory and building owners George Kerlin and his sister Katy Junkersfeld.

Kerlin stated the day of the fire that he did not have fire insurance for the 1880s-era building. He told the Comet Tuesday he is “trying to find someone to clean up the site” and he is working with the city to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

Fire leaves building useless Firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed an historic building that housed the Office Tavern, the law office of the late Mahlon Kerlin and an upstairs apartment at 212 S. Washington St., Delphi, last Wednesday. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe “I’m working with the city on this and I know there will be a charge,” Kerlin said. “I expect just the cost to get rid of everything will be between $10,000 and $12,000.”

“The reason I don’t have insurance is because I was told by the agent the cost was going to be between $12,000 and $15,000 and I can’t afford it.”

Kerlin said his sister and the co-owner of the building is on a cruise. She is expected to return soon. He said they can begin to make plans for the future at that time.

Taking care of business Firefighters and others including Office Tavern owner Dan Isley watch Friday as an excavator from F&K Construction moves fire debris back into the location of last Wednesday’s fire in the Kerlin Building. Work continues to be done on the site and surrounding buildings to resolve the after-fire issues. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe “We either have to re-build or sell it to the city, but we don’t know what we want to do right now,” he said.

Kerlin said there are people on the block without power and other utilities.

“Everybody has water in their basements,” he said. “The city is pumping it out and I don’t know if I will be expected to pay for it or not.”

According to Kerlin, passersby are taking bricks and momentos from the fire scene and he does not object.

“It’s okay if they take the bricks,” he concluded. “That’s just less for me to have to clean up!”

Neighbors helping neighbors Members of Tippecanoe County’s Battle Ground Volunteer Fire Department assisted the Delphi Tri-Township Volunteer firefighters with last Wednesday’s blaze at the Kerlin Building which housed the Office Tavern on Washington St. Members of the neighboring department ascended a ladder to the top of the building which houses Zook Reality to stand watch in case the fire from the nearby business spread to other buildings. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe Fire Chief Denny Randle said although the new Delphi Tri-Township Fire Territory plans to increase the charge for fire runs, an ordinance must be adopted before the additional charges can be instituted. Randle said the cost to a building owner for this kind of a run at this time is a flat $500.

Still without power Some businesses and residences along Main St. are still without power and utilities a week after the devastating fire at the Kerlin Building on Washington St. was battled and lost. City officials, utility providers, and Kerlin Building owners continue efforts to resolve the ongoing after-fire situation in the downtown area. Some basements still contain water from efforts to fight the fire and business and residential occupants do not have heat. Comet photo by Debbie Lowe “We were supposed to have a meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m. to adopt the ordinance, but we couldn’t do that because of the fire in the Kerlin Building,” Randle said Tuesday.

As chief of the fire territory, Randle released the building to Kerlin for remediation. He said an engineer visited the site as a representative of the city and deemed the back wall of the building as unsafe, which means the building owners will be expected to resolve that situation very quickly.

The cause of the blaze is officially “undetermined.” Because the nature of the fire and the need to make the site as safe as possible by pulling down the exterior walls, finding the exact cause of the fire would be challenging Randle said.

“There’s no way we can do it in a situation like this,” he said. “We recovered space heaters and determined their approximate locations on the second floor. But everything else, including the wiring, is just gone.”

Because the fire territory is staffed with all volunteer firefighters, the costs to fight the fire are for fuel for the trucks and wear and tear on the trucks, according to the chief. Randle said the city supplied the water to use and he expects the building owners to be charged for it.

Firefighter Ben Mears suffered the only injury and that was a pulled muscle.

“We can live with that,” Randle said. “He was sent to Urgent Care just to be on the safe side.”

Residents are warned to keep stairways clean and free of trash in case they experience a fire on a second floor. Randle said when firefighters need to access a second floor it is not safe if there is debris on the steps blocking their path.

“Landlords are required to have smoke detectors in all rentals,” he advised.

All residents should check their smoke detectors regularly and should avoid overloading electrical circuits. The chief advised residents to avoid the prolonged use of candles and to never leave a burning candle unattended.

For more fire safety tips Randle suggested visiting the National Fire Protection Association Web site or simply Google “fire safety.”

Randle further reported that steps will be taken in the future to be proactive to reduce the possibility of other fires in downtown buildings. He said he plans to visit area buildings with the state building inspector to look for code violations. He also plans to attend building/code educational classes offered by the state fire marshal’s office as he becomes aware of them to learn more about how to protect and serve the citizens in the territory.

Randle said between 75 and 100 firefighters worked Wednesday’s fire on Washington St. In addition, the Brookston Fire Department sent roughly seven firefighters and the Battle Ground Fire Territory sent eight.

“I really have to praise the guys (firefighters) on a job well done,” Randle concluded. “They worked their tails off to keep the fire from going to the other buildings.”