Business Owners Picking Up the Pieces After Massive Fire
By: Ryan Braschler
Updated: November 24, 2012
Those nine business owners are still reeling as the reality of their plight hits home. Shock, disbelief and a feeling of total devastation. That's what business owners we spoke to Saturday are experiencing.
The blaze also destroyed a church in the same complex, and its pastor is calling for his congregation, and all of the Tri-State, to reach out.
Fires like this one at Sharon Place in Newburgh are all-consuming. Nine businesses gone. Nine owners, like Mary Shepard, at a loss.
Chuck Bartlett pastors River Ridge Church of Christ, formerly located at Sharon Place. "I thought it was a joke at first," he says. "We had pews in there that were donated to us that were a hundred years old, lot of memories in those things."
For Shepard, the remaining rubble is a reminder of those things lost. For Pastor Bartlett, a chance for a community to band together. "We as individuals in the congregation are going to do everything we can to help," he says. "And I hope everyone else will too."
The investigation is ongoing through the Indiana State Fire Marshall's office. We'll have an update to the story tomorrow on Eyewitness News, and continue to bring you new information as it becomes available.
The blaze also destroyed a church in the same complex, and its pastor is calling for his congregation, and all of the Tri-State, to reach out.
Fires like this one at Sharon Place in Newburgh are all-consuming. Nine businesses gone. Nine owners, like Mary Shepard, at a loss.
Chuck Bartlett pastors River Ridge Church of Christ, formerly located at Sharon Place. "I thought it was a joke at first," he says. "We had pews in there that were donated to us that were a hundred years old, lot of memories in those things."
For Shepard, the remaining rubble is a reminder of those things lost. For Pastor Bartlett, a chance for a community to band together. "We as individuals in the congregation are going to do everything we can to help," he says. "And I hope everyone else will too."
The investigation is ongoing through the Indiana State Fire Marshall's office. We'll have an update to the story tomorrow on Eyewitness News, and continue to bring you new information as it becomes available.
