ORANGE — Neighbors and the town administrator are expressing relief over the demolition of the old Chase Turbine Manufacturing Co. building, which had fallen into disrepair after being ravaged by a fire 10 years ago.
Town Administrator Gabriele Voelker said the town took it upon itself to pay for the demolition, which she said cost between $3,000 and $4,000, and took about two days. Only rubble remains of the building tucked away on Chase Court.
“We had young children playing in there and the building was endangering their lives,” Voelker said. “I’m relieved that we made the place safe for people.”
Voelker said the town now wants to remove the rubble, but will need a taxpayer-approved appropriation for the expenditure. The project would then go out to bid to private contractors. The focus, she said, was on demolishing the building as it was a public safety hazard.
Orange Fire Chief James Young was a captain with the department when the fire struck in 2010. He said it was ruled accidental in nature, but he was unsure if a specific cause was determined.
“It basically burned the roof off the entire building,” he said, adding that a tarp was installed to replace the roof but wind eventually blew it off, allowing rain and snow to enter the structure and cause further deterioration. He said a portion of the building collapsed two or three years ago.
Neighbors William Goodwin, president of Riveto Mfg. Co., which manufactures Slencil writing instruments, and Adam Whitten, of Whitten Enterprises, commented that the structure had been an eyesore and public safety hazard following the blaze.
Whitten manages Whitten Enterprises; his family also owns Ames Trophy. Both buildings are adjacent to where the Chase structure stood. Whitten said he twice caught youngsters recreating in the building and raised his concerns to the town. He and his mother, Ingrid Whitten, said chicken wire was all that was installed to deter people from getting near the structure. Adam Whitten said a collapse of the building would have sent debris into the Millers River.
Goodwin said the former structure and the brick buildings in its vicinity were built as the New Home Sewing Machine Co. in the 1800s. He said Chase manufactured sawmill machinery in a time when most structures were built from wood.
“It was a prime component of the Industrial Revolution,” he said, “because, without those guys, you couldn’t take the lumber and turn it into building material.”
More information about the property’s history can be found at the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage’s website at bit.ly/2TV0UzX. Video of the blaze can be seen on YouTube at bit.ly/339pPnz.
Goodwin said he was at Rietta Flea Market in Hubbardston in 2010 when an employee called to tell him there was a massive building fire at Chase Court and it was possibly his. Goodwin raced back to downtown Orange to learn it was the Chase building.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 262.