A fire broke out Saturday night at Nelsonville’s Historic Public Square, affecting both buildings and residents who live nearby.
Firefighters from Nelsonville, York Township, Logan, Athens and The Plains were on the scene Saturday putting out the fires at McFadden Insurance Services and The Hocking College Art Gallery.
The fire started at 10 p.m. Saturday, according to a previous Post report. Nelsonville Fire Chief Harry Barber was still on the scene Sunday afternoon and was unable to be reached for comment regarding the aftermath of the fire.
Residents at the scene said electricity had been going on and off earlier Saturday evening prior to the fire starting.
Saranne Oakley, a resident of Nelsonville that lives two doors down from Stuart's Opera House , said she and her husband were about to go to bed early Saturday due to the power outage when they first noticed the fire.
“I looked outside the windows and I could see the flames coming from the buildings,” Oakley said.
Oakley quickly made arrangements to get her husband, who is disabled, out of their home.
“We were worried because there were embers flying all over the place,” Oakley said.
Miki Brooks, a resident of Nelsonville, remembered a similar fire that affected Nelsonville in the 1980s. The Opera House reopened in 1997.
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“It’s heart breaking, it brings tears to everyone’s eyes that all this is happening,” Brooks said. “It took so many years to rebuild,” Brooks said.
Stuart’s Opera House posted a statement to its website regarding the minimal damage to the building after Saturday’s fire, though the post mentioned that the future building for Stuart’s Opera House’s Education and Production Center was “completely gutted by the fire,” according to the release. The Education and Production Center building was directly behind the backstage wall of Stuart’s.
The Opera House itself did not see any fire damage, according to the release, though water and smoke damage will have to be taken care of in the theatre and office space below.
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