WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — After “losing everything” in hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, Denver Ferguson relocated from the Virgin Islands to the Upper Valley. Last week’s fire on Barnes Avenue stripped him again of all he owns.
Ferguson was among 10 people who were left homeless after the Sept. 23 fire left their apartment building uninhabitable — the cause of which remains undetermined.
“It’s pretty much hard to deal with because I’ve done it before,” he said. “But I’ve done it before, so I know I could do it again.”
Ferguson, 40, has been grateful for the kindness and generosity of people in White River Junction since the blaze, he said.
“Everybody is so loving,” he said. “And, you know, it’s community here.”
Since the fire, people have given them dog food, clothes and gift cards.
“It’s just been amazing and really overwhelming,” said Ferguson’s girlfriend, Sophie Caulfield, 22, who works as a manager at Pine in Hanover.
A longtime customer of the restaurant even brought Caulfield some clothing, she said.
The apartment building’s management company, Ledgeworks, has found new housing for its tenants.
All the property’s residents “have been relocated to other Ledgeworks-managed apartments,” Tim Sidore, the company’s chief operating officer, wrote in a Wednesday email.
The burned building is currently boarded up, and the investigation of the fire has largely moved into the hands of insurance companies, Hartford Fire Marshal Tom Peltier said in a Monday phone interview.
The cause is “undetermined” for now, Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney said in a Monday phone interview: “Which is not an uncommon ruling for fire investigations.”
‘Chaos, pretty much’
Before last week’s fire, Caulfield was cooking for a family brunch when she started to feel dizzy.
“I smelled that smell that’s very distinctive if you’ve ever been in a fire before,” she said. “That’s just, like, terrifying.”
Ferguson was in the shower when he smelled the smoke and then heard Caulfield from the other room.
“I just screamed, ‘Denver, fire!’ and he ran out of the shower. And I was like, ‘Put your pants on!’ ” Caulfield said. “And we grabbed the pets and ran downstairs.”
Ferguson and Caulfield were able to escape the fire with their two pets, who are now doing fine — Ricky, a 2-year-old black cat, and Lucy, a 4-year-old beagle-shepherd mix.
Some pets, including at least two dogs, perished in the fire that began in the unit beside Ferguson and Caulfield’s.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury, but all the human residents — as well as two cats, multiple dogs and several snakes — were safe.
Some pet owners weren’t as fortunate. Ferguson saw a neighbor trying to run back upstairs to get dogs stuck upstairs, but he had to run out as the fire had grown too large and objects were falling from inside the building.
“So it was chaos, pretty much,” Ferguson said.
The couple’s pets both have been through a fire before. An old coffee house below Caulfield’s apartment in Brimfield, Mass., had a grease fire about two years ago, she said.
“They’re troopers, for sure,” she said.
Among those to lose pets in the fire were Jennafer Worth, 20, and her sister, Alyssa, whose dogs passed — a 2-year-old German shepherd-American bully mix, Luna, and a 3-year-old Pitbull, Princess.
Veterinarians at Stone Cliff in Lebanon took care of the cremation costs for their dogs and gave them multiple paw prints for both, Jennafer said.
But the sisters’ pet snakes are “doing fine,” Jennafer said. “They’re actually staying with a family friend.”
Recovery
The sisters have created a GoFundMe to solicit donations to replace their lost belongings and have raised just under $3,000 for “basics — clothing, household essentials, and supplies to begin rebuilding their lives,” the fundraiser says.
They have moved into a new apartment provided by Ledgeworks.
The sisters previously lived in two units upstairs, but have decided to move into a single unit to make things easier, Jennafer said. They are currently waiting for the new lease to be written and presented to them, she said.
Ferguson and Caulfield are similarly working to replace lost items, as they didn’t stop to collect any belongings.
“I just immediately ran out because I wasn’t sure how fast the fire had already been, you know, moving in there,” Ferguson said. “Once we saw (the fire) got into our apartment (…) we just knew our stuff was gone.”
Caulfield and Ferguson had been investing a significant amount of time and money into their apartment, which they moved into in January.
“I just literally started decking out my stuff,” Ferguson said.
But as both are artists, the “most tragic part” is that about 10 years of work have been “completely lost,” Caulfield said.
Still, Ferguson has about 20 pieces that were safe in a gallery in Waterbury, Vt.
The couple have also raised over $12,000 for necessities and art supplies through a GoFundMe.
Ferguson works at the Tea House and the Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Junction, and has shown his art in galleries as far-flung as New York City. White River Junction’s Kishka Gallery, which represents Ferguson, began the GoFundMe for the couple and made the first donation of $1,000.
The two spent the first night at Caulfield’s parents’ house in Lyme, and then moved into an apartment provided by Ledgeworks the next day.
“So far, it’s been good,” Ferguson said. “We got the keys and, you know, we’re in a place.”
“We’re just kind of waiting for what they say next,” Ferguson said.
To help those displaced and left without belongings, the Filling Station is hosting a “Benefit Dance Party” on Friday, Oct. 3, with a portion of every sale going directly to the victims. Proceeds will help provide housing, food, clothing and other essentials for those affected.
