[nbc11news.com – 2023.10.06] A piece of Delta’s history is a pile of ash after a 120-year-old building went up in flames this week.
Delta Dry Cleaners at 2nd Street and Main Street is a total loss. The building, both a family business and home, caught fire Wednesday afternoon. Flames shot several feet into the air above the roofs of nearby buildings.
The Delta community has responded with open arms, with many on the Delta Message Board Facebook page offering food, clothing, and seeking ways to help the family that owned the business. Others shared fond memories about the owners and business, recounting stories about the owner’s kindness. One commenter said that the business went above and beyond to help with her daughter’s wedding dress. Another commenter recounted a story about how his father helped him start his business, with the two becoming so close that the owner eventually became a pallbearer at his father’s funeral.
The GoFundMe set up for the family has already raised over $33,000 for repairs after just two days, with residents pitching in anywhere from $5 to $1,000. With the extreme amount of damage the building sustained, it’s unclear how much of it will be salvageable, if any.
The owner and his family lived in an apartment above the building, and at least one member of the family was in the building when the fire started. He said he is doing well overall, but emergency crews said he did sustain some minor injuries before he escaped the building. Businesses on Delta’s Main Street are narrowly spaced and fire crews evacuated nearby buildings as a precaution, but crews successfully contained the fire and prevented it from spreading.
Delta City Manager Elyse Ackerman Casselberry called for further support as the family recovers from this devastating loss. “There’s an opportunity to support this family and business owners, and I hope that people will look for ways to do that. Because it’s going to take this whole community to help them,” said Casselberry.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.
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