Shelton resident Dee Tutka saw a Facebook post Tuesday morning from the city’s Echo Hose Hook & Ladder fire company asking for donations to benefit the dozens of residents displaced by the Sunday night fire that leveled half a block of downtown Shelton.
By 10 a.m., Tutka was at the firehouse on Coram Avenue helping to sort through a mountain of clothing that filled the building’s meeting room.
She wasn’t alone.
Dozens of residents joined firefighters in sorting through the clothes, food, gift cards, and other donations that have piled up at the firehouse since the fire — and kept coming Tuesday.
Tutka, a friend of Michele Bialek, owner of the Liquid Lunch, a popular Howe Avenue eatery shuttered by the fire, said pitching in was the least she could do.
“Just to pay it forward,” she said. “To give something back to the community.”
By late morning, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, one of the city’s congressional representatives, pitched in in the sorting effort before holding a meeting to thank firefighters and assure business owners affected by the blaze that they’ll have her support in getting back on their feet.
“That pile of clothing in there is a testament to really the goodwill of the people of this community,” DeLauro told residents and business owners. “I want everyone here to know that you are not alone, and there are people who want to help to make a difference in your lives.”
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Echo Hose volunteer firefighters Kevin Lantowsky and Chris Jones coordinated the donation effort.
“Social media is a wonderful thing,” Jones said while looking over the piles of donated clothes Tuesday.
He said residents responded immediately to the plea for donations — and for volunteers to help sort them.
He said several people showed up Monday night about 5 p.m. to help and ended up staying until midnight.
And people have been giving more than just clothes, he said.
“The kitchen’s filled with canned foods,” Jones said. “Checks, gift cards in the thousands, and the phone calls keep coming in.”
Click here to read more about how you can help, via the Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Co. 1 Facebook page.
“The community support not only from Shelton but from the entire Valley has been tremendous,” Shelton Fire Department Chief Fran Jones said. “Keep it coming. These people basically have the clothes on their backs.”
Jones credited the volunteers from Echo Hose Hook & Ladder for their efforts in the wake of Sunday night’s blaze.
“These guys have been around the clock for the past 48 hours, not only fighting fires, making rescues, but supporting members of the community,” he said.
‘You Will Be Back In Business’
DeLauro’s campaign manager, Shelton resident Jimmy Tickey, who is also a member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, organized a meeting at the firehouse Tuesday morning in an effort to connect business owners affected by the fire with Connecticut officials from the federal small business administration.
Those gathered included the owners of Liquid Lunch, the Petal Pusher florist shop, and the Joy Lee Chinese restaurant.
Bob Sweeney, the SBA’s district director for Connecticut, said he’d be working with the city Tuesday to document the scope of the damage from the fire, and offered support to the business owners affected by the blaze.
“You can call us and ask any question, we’ll stand by you, help you until you get the right partner, the right program to get the assistance you need,” he said.
Also on hand were Ralph and Elaine Matto, who own the building that burned down Sunday.
“I’m just in awe of the firemen here,” Elaine Matto said. “I’m just overwhelmed and impressed.”
Leaders of several area nonprofits were also on hand to pledge their support, including the Valley United Way’s Jack Walsh and Susan Agamy, from the Spooner House.
Diane Stroman, TEAM Inc.‘s vice president for development, said case workers there are working to help find residents displaced by the fire find new homes.
Most of the residents of the building were able to make alternative short-term housing arrangements, but the Red Cross of Connecticut said Monday that the organization is providing temporary housing to four adults.
Bill Purcell, the president of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the chamber’s chairman, Phil White, who was also at Tuesday’s meeting, owns Better Packages, a Canal Street business damaged by fire last year.
“Phil is back in business and you, too, will be back in business,” Purcell said.
