For mayor, Ferry Street fire was double trouble

Two houses he owns were damaged by an electrical fire.

By: Cynthia Williamson
   NEW HOPE — When Pam Minford’s Fountainhead banquet hall was destroyed by a pre-dawn blaze three years ago, New Hope Mayor Laurence Keller was there to console his longtime friend.
   Aug. 26, it was Mr. Keller who needed consoling. Two houses he owns at 70 and 72 W. Ferry St. were damaged by an electrical fire that officials have determined started in the attic of one of the circa-1850 row houses.
   Mr. Keller was attending Paul Balderston’s 85th birthday bash at the Lambertville Station and had just finished delivering a proclamation to the lifelong New Hope resident when the mayor and other party-goers, including New Hope Eagle Fire Chief Thomas Markey, firefighter Frank Cosner Sr. and Solebury Township Police Chief Duffy Mangan, noticed fire trucks and an ambulance crossing the bridge to New Hope.
   They all headed for the door, Mr. Keller recalled this week.
   Initially, the fire was thought to be at the intersection of West Bridge Street and Stockton Avenue, but as Mr. Keller crossed the bridge to New Hope, he remembered thinking to himself, "Wow, it looks like Ferry Street and one of my buildings."
   "It turned out to be two," said Mr. Keller, who also resides on Ferry Street, but that dwelling was not involved in the fire.
   The fire reportedly was discovered by Kevin Snyder, the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad chief, who was driving on West Bridge Street at about 8:30 p.m. when he smelled smoke and called 911, Mr. Keller said.
   Mr. Keller doesn’t yet have an assessment on damages but said five tenants living in the four apartments have had to find other housing. He believes the occupants at 74 W. Bridge St. also have been displaced by the fire.
   "It all happened so fast," recalled Mr. Keller, noting his first concern was for the safety of his tenants. "I wanted to make sure everybody was safe and accounted for."
   He believes only one of the apartments was occupied at the time the blaze broke out.
   "There’s a lot of water damage," he said.
   Mr. Keller has owned the properties at 70 and 72 W. Ferry St. for eight years and 14 years, respectively. Both dwellings are located in the historic district.
   In addition to New Hope, Upper Makefield, Midway and Lambertville fire departments and the Lambertville-New Hope rescue squad also responded to the blaze.
Fund-raiser planned for fire victims
   A local benefit party for the victims of the Aug. 26 fire on Ferry Street in New Hope will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Eagle Fire Co.
   There will be food donated by area restaurants, cash bar and music by DJ Rye. Many gift certificates and services from local businesses will be raffled.
   All proceeds will benefit the 70 W. Ferry Fire Fund. To help or for information, call Bert at Weidel Realtors, 397-0777.