Bakery dream up in smoke?

By FRITZ MAYER

YOUNGSVILLE, NY — Some neighbors say Robert Vance is 80 years old, others say he’s 85. On the morning of the fire, his wife Carol didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell a reporter his actual age, but she did say, “He’s up there, really up there.”

Carol and Robert were standing on Route 52 in Youngsville on the morning of June 14 as dozens of firefighters poked and prodded the building across the street, cut a hole in the roof, and otherwise worked to make sure the fire was out.

The bunting was still in place on the front porch of the Youngsville American Bakery, which had opened its doors for business just two weeks earlier. Carol said her husband had worked as a baker for most of his life, in Liberty, on Long Island, and many other places.

Robert was upset because people at the scene kept saying the fire started in the bakery. He said it did not start in the bakery, but in an area behind it. “I was selling a loaf of bread to a customer, and I heard an explosion behind me,” he said.

He was too upset to talk about the incident further.

At about 9:15 a.m., people attending services in the Catholic church next door were told to move their cars from the parking lot so that firefighters had more room to battle the flames that were shooting out from the rear of the building.

Four people were evacuated from the two apartments above the bakery. Jeff Swingle, one of the tenants of the building, sat on the front lawn of the church on the sunny Sunday morning, not wearing shoes or a shirt. He said he was awakened by the scream of the fire siren. When he opened his door, his apartment immediately filled with smoke. There was enough time to jump into a pair of pajama bottoms, but not time to collect anything else.

In a subsequent phone call, Dick Martinkovic, the Sullivan County Fire Coordinator, said the fire destroyed the bakery. He said the fire was not suspicious in nature and is still under investigation. The exact cause had not yet been determined.

At the scene, Carol said it was too early to know if Robert would be able to re-open the bakery. A lot of people in the community hope he does.

“He makes really good rye bread,” said one neighbor.

Another praised his cookies.

The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP. All towns and villages in Sullivan County participate.

According to information from NFIP, homes and buildings in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from federally regulated or federally insured lenders are required to have flood insurance. These areas have a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Homes and businesses located in moderate-to-low-risk areas that have mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders are typically not required to have flood insurance. However, flood insurance is recommended because 25 percent of all flood claims occur in moderate-to-low risk flood areas.

Residents can go to www.floodsmart.gov to find out the relative flooding risk of their properties, and the new flood maps can be accessed at rmc.mapmodteam.com/RMC2/Counties_Sullivan.htm , or residents can call 518/402-8151 for more information.

An informational meeting about the new maps will be held in the Sullivan County Legislative Hearing Room on July 8 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Property owners who believe their property was mistakenly listed as being in a flood zone have 90 days to appeal the designation after the public meeting.