Middlesex starts recovery after storm
MIDDLESEX TWP — The storm that peeled the roof off the Middlesex Township fire hall is the reason fire company officials still don't have a damage estimate.
Kim Blystone, president of the volunteer fire company, said its insurance adjuster and contractor are so busy with repairs from the July storm that they do not yet have a firm cost of replacing the roof on the building and the contents lost. She said the adjuster told her all the losses will not be covered because stipulations in the insurance policy don't cover certain items.
“It's going to be a hardship for us,” she said.
Blystone said the loss of the roof during one of the strong storms that wreaked havoc in southern Butler County caused severe damage and loss to every area of the fire hall building but the truck bays.
She said every finished floor in the building was ruined, as were 45 sets of turnout gear that hadn't yet been assigned to firefighters, a computer, five office chairs, three desks, and all the counters and cabinets in the kitchen, which requires a total renovation. She said the turnout gear is being aired out, and will be sent to a special cleaners for cleaning and repair.
Blystone admits it seems somewhat providential that the only items left untouched in the frightening event were the trucks and fire equipment.
“Nothing was damaged that would prevent us from serving the community,” Blystone said.
She said that is was a testament to the fire company's commitment to serving the public in any circumstances that firefighters responded to 16 weather-related calls on the day the roof was blown off.
Blystone said contractor Kress Brothers Builders of Gibsonia have been helpful although they have also been extremely busy with weather-related repairs. The company quickly stretched plastic over the top of the building after the roof landed upside down in the back yard, then returned to the fire hall a few hours later to make repairs when the second storm that day caused water to pond precariously on the plastic.
“They have done an outstanding job,” said Blystone. “They had us under plastic that night really quickly.”
She said Kress Brothers has agreed to start the roof work on the money the fire company receives from its insurance policy, and accept the balance when the funds are raised.Blystone hopes the building will be repaired in time for the fire company's biggest annual fundraiser, the Gun Bash on Nov. 3.“We need to be up and running for that,” she said.Blystone said Assistant Chief Glenn Pfeifer was in the office when the roof peeled away “like turning a page in a book.” Pfeifer told her he noticed the garage doors sucking in and out, then heard a deafening noise that included two-by-fours snapping.“After it was over, he went outside and couldn't believe his eyes,” Blystone said.Fred McMullen, of the National Weather Service's Pittsburgh office, said the storm damage was caused by straight line winds, which gusted 60 to 70 miles per hour during the storms.Blystone said funding the roof repairs and replacement of the expensive items lost will be difficult because the fire company's budget is already stretched thin for training and fire-fighting equipment purchases. She is confident the public will step up and help the fire company that has served the township for decades.Donations can be made to the Middlesex Township Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 132, Valencia, Pa. 16059.
