After Thursday Night's Fire ... Signs of Life

Customers sat at every station inside Monroe Nail Salon late Monday afternoon. With such a flurry of activity, it was hard to tell that a fire had closed the brick building at 450 Monroe Turnpike just last Thursday night.

"We're very busy now," one woman said, while applying a shiny coat of polish to a customer's fingernail.

Not every tentant was as lucky, but Monroe Nail Salon was able to open Monday, along with Benjamin Moore paint store and Home Technologies Inc. Security Specialists.

Still closed were Dr. Saul Sloan's second-floor dentist office — where the fire is believed to have started, the law offices of Fred Martin and John Wakely, All American Appliance, Soup Thyme and Monroe Pediatrics.

Fire Marshal Bill Davin had just completed his preliminary investigation on Friday and determined the fire was most likely accidental. His office was still trying to determine the cause on Monday, but Davin said it appears to be electrical in nature.

"We were down, but not out," Jim Rackiewicz, an installation manager with Home Technologies Inc. Security Specialists, said with a smile.

Rackiewicz said Home Technologies, which was closed Saturday and Sunday, was only affected slightly by the missed time in its offices.

A couple doors down, Benjamin Moore paint store had missed out on the Saturday rush for home improvements before re-opening on Sunday.

"I feel pretty lucky to be honest with you," said Andrew Bardugone, the owner. "I was only closed for a couple of days and all of my equipmwent is still working."

Bardugone owned the paint store for five years, but used to work there when his cousins ran it — dating back to 1973.

Fred Martin, who is the former town attorney, and his wife Dee Dee Martin, a Town Council member, stopped at the paint store to talk to Bardugone before walking upstairs to the damaged law office.

A fire restoration crew led by Nutmeg Adjusters worked in the hallway and the law office and an illuminated flashlight danced in the darkened dentist office, as one adjuster walked toward the corridor.

"They're boxing items and taking personal property to a restoration place to restore all that can be restored," Fred Martin said.

Martin said all of his files and wills are intact. "It's just smoke and water damage," he added.

Wakely has been away doing a trial, according to Martin, who has made a few adjustments to keep his own law practice going. AT&T has re-routed all of his calls to his cell phone and First American Title Insurance is allowing Martin to use the conference room at its 35 Corporate Drive location. Before that, he said he made a couple of house calls.

"They've been very gracious," Dee Dee Martin said of the insurance company.

"They stepped up," Fred Martin added. "They will let me use the conference room, at least through the summer."

The Martins said people have been generous in reaching out and offering to help them since the fire.

Dee Dee said Fred saved a computer from his office and set it up on their kitchen table at home.

"The fan blows the soot, but it's working," she said with a laugh.

"In the overall scheme of things, we're fortunate," Fred said. "I have all of my files and wills and did not lose any of my equipment."