Community counts in fire response

PARIS — Monday’s meeting of the Paris selectboard began and ended with thanks or local firefighters, who battled valiantly for four days against a raging blaze at the NEPW Logistics warehouse on Pine Street.

However, firefighters were quick to deflect that gratitude, pointing instead to the community reaction that helped make their work possible.

It wasn’t just local folks who turned out.  Firefighter spouses from as far away as Rumford and Farmington manned the firehouse kitchen alongside regular auxiliary members and planning board chairman Russ Case, turning out meals for hungry firefighters.

No complaints were heard from businesses shut down during the first day of the fire, when firefighters worked off Main Street hydrants, before switching over to draw water from the Little Androscoggin River.

Instead, many carted food over to the fire scene, including Maurice’s, Yanni’s House of Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts and many others. 

“McDonald’s sent over just boxes and boxes of hamburgers,” said Deputy Chief John Longley.

Despite the halt in traffic, the Big Apple station at the corner of Main and Pine Streets acted as a warming station for firefighters.

“Basically, they kept the doors open just for us,” said Paris firefighter Darrell Rugg.

On top of that, workers from Elements Day Spa offered massages to weary firefighters, some of whom worked 20 hours without a break while Oxford sent over fresh socks to warm feet forced to trudge through water that ran to the knees at some parts of the NEPW warehouse, as crews dumped in water for days on end.

Oxford Hills Middle School, closed for two days by the fire, offered up its space as a command post, media center and bunkhouse.

And, with the operation necessarily running into the wee hours, the Oxford Hannaford opened its doors after hours to the fire service, as needed.

But perhaps most important at all, according to Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost, were the nameless folks who stepped in to lend a hand.  Just ordinary people off the street who brought coffee, passed out bottles of water, lent modal support, or simply held their tongues during a frustrating few days.

“I’ve really got to thank everyone, and I mean everyone in this community for their support,” said Frost.  “We really appreciate it.  I mean, I know, we had Market Square pretty well bunged up [with fire hoses and blocked traffic] for quite a while.”

“The thing is, we’ll never be able to thank everybody,” said Longley, “and even when we try, we knows that, unfortunately, we’ll miss someone.”

“There are some people who chipped in that, really, we’ll never know who they were,” said Rugg.

Frost agreed.  Having been so focused on command during the long ordeal, he said he was still learning of different ways people helped out.

“Frankly, I still don’t know about a lot of what went on, as far as the community kicking in,” said Frost, added, however, that he was glad for the support since it allowed him to concentrate on the work at hand.

Drew Gilman, who owns the NEPW warehouse, said Tuesday that he’s thrilled with both Frost’s on-scene leadership and the behind-the-scenes support of the community.

“It was just phenomenal on all angles,” he said.  “From the fire department, to the rescue workers, the auxiliary members, the Chamber of Commerce, the local businesses and even regular citizens, the public support was just incredible.

“We can’t say enough in terms of the help people in this  community have offered us, and are still offering us days after the fire was put out,” said Gilman.  “It’s very humbling.”

“What happened here has really restored my faith in people,” agreed Longley.  “I’m really very proud of my town.”

Cost of warehouse fire far-reaching

PARIS — It took nearly 100 hours, but by midday Sunday, the fire at the NEPW Logistics warehouse, on Pine Street, in Paris, was declared officially snuffed.

Now comes the hard part.

Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost says the four-day fire will prove costly to his department.  On Monday, he was still trying to calculate the cost, although some aspects were beginning to come into focus.

Although only two people joined Frost on scene in the first 10 minutes — including a driver and one firefighter not-yet certified to wear an air pack — all 29 people on the Paris fire roster eventually logged time at the Pine Street scene.

Some put in more than 60 hours.  A handful, including Frost and Deputy Chief John Longley put in 20-hour shifts before taking a break.

Although called volunteers, because they hold other full-time jobs, Paris firefighters actually are paid for their time spent on emergency calls and regular training hours.  The rate of pay runs from $10 to $12 an hour.

On Monday, Frost said last week’s warehouse fire will cost about $12,000 from his annual $70,000 budget for wages.

Darrell Rugg, who has assisted Frost with some of the department paperwork, says Paris will pay out more in wages for the four-day event than it usually spends in two months.

And the work doesn’t end there, Frost said.  Firefighters still have several days of cleanup ahead of them, not the least of which is returning equipment belonging to other towns and getting back items lost on scene — a hazard of running an operation involving 53 different towns.

Frost said he also depleted his diesel account, due to having to run his fire engines almost nonstop throughout the event.

Between wages, fuel and other costs not yet calculated, including food and beverage costs, Frost said over the weekend that it is likely he will deplete his budget before the end of the fiscal year, June 30.

If it comes to that, he said, Paris may have to hold a special town meeting to draw on its undesignated reserve accounts.

No jobs lost in warehouse fire, company will rebuild

PARIS — The owner of NEPW Logistics, which last week suffered one of the most dramatic and far-reaching fires in state history — involving nearly 200 firefighters from 53 towns over four days — says no workers will lose their jobs as a result of the devastation.

Drew Gilman, of Cape Elizabeth, is one of three owners of the warehousing and transportation company, which takes in pulp by rail from Canada and distributes it on demand, as needed, to paper mills across Maine. 

The company was founded as New England Public Warehouse in 1988, using a 187,000-square-foot building once occupied by the A. C. Lawrence tannery.  Since then, the facility has expanded to 233,000-square-feet and six additional locations. 

Gilman bought the company in 2002 and, the next year, changed its name to NEPW Logistics.  Despite the company’s growth, Gilman says Paris remains vital to its operations, thanks to a spur of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic rail line that can handle 11 rail cars at a time, 22 per day, each loaded to the brim with 500-pound squares of pulp the size of a hay bale.

Paper mills generally keep no more than a 30-day supply of pulp on hand at any one time.  The issue they face, Gilman says, is that product from the Canadian plants does not flow at a steady rate.  It comes out in spurts, necessitating the need to warehouse product.

That product he says, is easily worth “millions” of dollars. 

“In fact, even before the fire, what was in the building was more valuable than the building itself,” he says.

It’s too soon to put a dollar figure on the loss, says Gilman, who’s been sequestered away, nearly nonstop, with agents from for different insurance companies.

However, Gilman is clear on two points. 

First, despite early assumptions, his Paris employees were not put out of work by the fire.

“Our business goes 24/7 and everyone is still at work,” said Gilman, Tuesday.  “We are working full throttle.”

Seven office employees are now working out of NEPW’s Mechanic Falls site, where phone and internet line already have been transferred.  The 22 warehouse employees have been shifted to a variety of functions, from continuing work at new, leased locations, performing inventory checks to determine how much of the Paris material is salvageable, and giving tours to insurance reps.

“We’re definitely not laying anyone off,” says Gilman.  “I wouldn’t do that to people at this time of year, anyway.”

Gilman says that, in the short term, he has leased warehouse space in Oxford from John Schiavi and in Auburn from Safe Handling.  Product will be hauled from the rail lines using NEPW’s fleet of 40 tractor-trailor trucks, while Gilman continues the search for additional space.

“It can be hard to create 200,000-square feet of storage space all in one shot” says Gilman.

The second point Gilman stresses is that NEPW will remain a presence in Paris.  Because of the rail spur, the property itself has a high degree of value.  The only real question is, can the old tannery building be rebuilt, or should NEPW knock it down and make a fresh start.

“That’s really way up in the air, right now,” says Gilman.  “We’re going over things with insurers and inspectors and structural engineers to determine the best course of action.”

For now, Gilman says, the top priority is to keep product flowing, whatever the additional cost.  And that cost, he said, without putting a price tag on it, is “very expensive.”

The one saving grace, he says, is that a number of mills were on short-term shutdowns, meaning there is less demand for storage at the moment than there might ordinarily be this time of year.

But will a disruption in the supply chain create a ripple that might prolong those shutdowns.  No, says, Gilman.  That’s one reason why he’s scrambling to secure short-term warehouse space.

“I strongly believe that we will be able to bring in all the pulp that was scheduled to come in and, although it may cost more to truck it, we’ll get it our customers in a way that is as seamless as possible,” said Gilman.

Still, getting back up to speed and humming on all cylinders will be a long process, he said, which could take as long as six months to a year.

“Working in the paper industry, every day is challenge,” said Gilman.  “What gets me out of bed every morning is knowing that this is just one more challenge.  We’ll figure it out.” 

New face for Main Street Furniture

NORWAY — No, Main Street Furniture and Appliance, formerly known as Western Auto of Norway, is not expanding its storefront out onto the sidewalk. 

Many people have asked that question in the last week, but the plywood frame jutting from the front of the store is only a temporary structure, meant to keep contractors out of the elements.  By late February, when the covering comes down, the store will have an all-new, $75,000 façade — the first significant renovation done to the building at 313 Main Street since it went up in the mid-1950s.

“All of the glass is coming out, so it’s also meant to help keep us warm inside,” said owner Chris Shorey, about the addition which has raised so many eyebrows.  “We know it’s inconvenient for people walking up and down the street, but it’s a necessary evil to the end, right now.  After all, we are essentially replacing the entire storefront.”

One other key point to keep in mind — despite its foreboding appearance, the family-owned store is still open.

Main Street's renovation project is funded, in part, by a $20,000 façade grant from the town of Norway.  The grant program uses money from a state community development block grant administered by the Western Maine Economic Development Council. 

The Shorey family, who are paying for the balance of the work out of pocket, say it's a demonstration of their belief in a healthy, vibrant business community on Main Street.

“We’re committed to Main Street,” says Shorey.  “We’re committed to Norway and we are committed to the people of the Oxford Hills.  We wanted to put our best face forward and, literally, that’s what we are doing with this renovation.”

Long an “anchor store” on Main Street, Western Auto dealt in vehicle parts when it was founded by the Schiavi family more than 50 years ago — hence the name.  Frank Shorey was brought in to manage the store and, liking what he saw, he eventually bought in.  Chris, who took over day-today management in February, started out as chief floor sweeper for his dad in 1978.

With Chris’ ascension came a new name, meant to represent the company’s “small-town business feel.”  As Main Street Furniture and Appliance, the Shoreys jettisoned their line of hardware products, as well as a lawn and garden section.

“We had to do it in order to be a viable business five to 10 years from now,” explains Chris.  “Over the years, it became less and less profitable for a retailer our size to be in that business.  Personally, it was a hard decision, but financially a very easy one.”

The change was not made in haste.  A new business model was prepared and careful planning went into the transition.  Still, Chris says he and his dad have been flabbergasted by the results.

“It’s far exceeded our expectations,” he said.  “The community has really supported us through this change.  For the first time in our company’s history, furniture sales are going to exceed our appliance sales.”

And this is despite the fact that the Shoreys have just brought in their seventh truckload of GE factory seconds.  The company deals in new appliances, of course, but with the market in mind, and thanks to new partnerships available since the change in focus, the Shoreys have stocked up on units that are otherwise new except for small dents and scratches.

“It’s been working out great for the people around here,” says Shorey.  “We are able to buy it inexpensively and we are able to pass it on to the customer inexpensively.  To get a great price for just a little cosmetic damage, a lot of people are able to live with that.”

With three floors of furniture to choose from, Main Street may well be the largest retailer in the Oxford Hills, apart from the big box stores.  Still, Chris says everyone involved works hard to maintain that hometown service that only a small, family-run business can provide.

Although the renovation includes practical aspects, such as new, energy efficient display windows, some thought also went into how the project could benefit the neighborhood.  The end result will be a community bulletin board built into the brick face of the storefront.

“We’ve also got a beautiful new sign that’s coming out,” said Shorey.  “We can’t wait to see it.  We think it will add not only to the building, but to the street.”

The overall attractiveness of Main Street was factored into the design of Portland architects Holt & Lachman, says Shorey.  Although some have bemoaned the recent loss of potential retail space to Norway Savings Bank’s operations center, Shorey remains optimistic about that project, as well as his own.

“We’re excited about what the bank's doing,” he said.  “We’ve heard some people say it should be retail, but as far as we’re concerned, if it’s an attractive building and it’s occupied, we’re happy.  The more attractive we can make our Main Street, the more people are going to come down and look around.   

“To look blighted, like it has been, does not attract customers to my store or to any other store on Main Street,” he added.