Owner Of Former LI 'Batmobile' Replica Shop On Fire: 'It Was Horrible'

JAMESPORT, NY — The community is coming together to help after a devastating fire recently gutted a Jamesport potato barn once used for the creation of replica Batmobiles and other custom cars, officials said.

A GoFundMe page, "Fire Destroys Batrodz. Everything Lost!" was created by Lori Hallas, cousin of James Benken and his wife Sue. "The potato barn where Jim, of BatrodzLLC, kept his custom cars and tools and years full of memories — as well as his pet pigeons— burned to the ground in an electrical fire," she wrote. "Jim and Sue grew up on the East End and have spent their lives giving back to this community. It is now our time to help them and give back to them. They lost everything in the barn with this fire. Nothing is salvageable. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated."

Around 9 p.m. on Nov. 12, the Riverhead Fire Department was dispatched as mutual aid to 1795 Main Rd. in Jamesport for a building fire. The address belongs to Batrodz Resurrection Garage.

"The first responding units found a potato barn fully involved," Jamesport firefighters said. The Riverhead Fire Department assisted the Jamesport Fire Department at the scene, along with the Mattituck Fire Department. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance stood by in case of any injuries, and the Flanders-Northampton Fire Department stood by at the Jamesport firehouse, fire officials said.

The scene was turned over to Riverhead fire marshal for investigation, the Riverhead Fire Department said. The blaze was extinguished by 11:30 p.m.

Former Riverhead Fire Chief Steve Beal said that when they arrived, the fire was raging through the roof, which collapsed.

James Benken, owner of Batrodz Resurrection Garage, said he has not performed commercial work for customers in quite a few years.

"That barn was only used for my personal storage and project builds of my own," he said.

In the days since the fire, friends and fellow car enthusiasts have expressed not just their sorrow at the heartbreaking loss, but offers to help Benken dig his life's work and passion from the charred rubble.

Displaying a Facebook video of a burnt 1966 Gotham Roadster body #70 being pulled from the charred remains of his dream late last week, Benken wrote: "That’s what our day consisted of. Thanks to everyone that came out to help me get everything out. You’ll never know how much I appreciate the help and support."

On Sunday night, after a weekend of struggling to save something, anything, from the ashes, Benken was disheartened. "We cleaned out all the cars yesterday. Quite a few showed up to lend a hand. It was horrible to see the cars destroyed. I was hoping I could save at least one car. Nothing at all was salvageable."

His favorite car in the barn had been a 1986 Buick Grand National, Benken said. "I've had that car about four years and was doing a restoration on it. It's badly burned. I could fix that car, but it would cost more than it's worth, and I don't have any tools or a place to do the work — so I'll be forced to scrap it. It's pretty bad."

The GoFundMe, however, represents an outpouring of caring from those who want to help lift up Benken after devastating loss. He expressed gratitude for the kindness shown by the many who care. With any funds raised, Benken said, "Hopefully, I can pull everything together, find another building and buy a few more cars."

He wrote about the fire on Facebook hours after all was lost.

"At around 9 p.m. last night, we had a fire in my building and it’s a total loss," he said. "I would like to thank the Jamesport, Riverhead and Mattituck Fire Departments, the Riverhead fire marshal’s office and EMS for responding and trying to help us. I would also like to thank all my friends and family that reached out to me. It’s truly appreciated. As for me — I have no idea what I’m going to do. Everything I own was in that building. It was my second home for the past 27 years. It’s a devastating loss, to say the least."

But, he added: "The outpouring from the community is amazing. I had no idea how many people had heard of me and the cars I've built in the past. I thought I was just another guy in an old barn nobody cared about. I'm shocked."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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