Eastport rallies in aftermath of Irving store fire

EASTPORT – When a local convenience store and gasoline station was destroyed by fire last week, Moose Island residents did what most small-town folks do – they put their heads together to figure out how to move forward.

The Irving Mainway on Washington Street was the early-morning stop for coffee and a newspaper and the late-night run for a snack.

So when it was destroyed by fire last week, that left a huge gap in community service.

“As a seven-day-a-week store with long hours and the only such type of year-round store, there are various impacts on us as individuals ranging from fishermen grabbing a coffee and a bite to eat on their way to their boat to a lunch stop for truckers on the run to the port,” City Manager George “Bud” Finch said last week. “[Also from] the quick stop for milk and bread in the early hours of the evening, to ‘Where do I get my Ben and Jerry’s habit taken care of late at night?'”

Now the big question in town is: Will Irving rebuild the store?

Irving representatives are mum on the subject.

All they would say was that the store was damaged beyond repair. “And we will evaluate all our options for the future of this location,” Harry Hadiaris, Irving Oil’s director of retail operation, said in a prepared statement last week.

Finch confirmed he had spoken with Irving officials, but had few details. “I do not expect a definitive action plan for four to six weeks,” he said.

The company did say it would try to place employees affected by the fire into nearby Irving stores to keep them working. According to the city manager, the fire caused the loss of four full-time and six part-time jobs.

The fire also will be an economic loss to the city if the company decides not to rebuild. Finch said there would be an impact on the municipal budget with the loss of tax revenue.

But Moose Island residents are pulling together.

“As a community we will regroup as we have in the past,” Finch said. The downtown Moose Island General Store, which had been closed for the winter, reopened to meet some of the needs of the community.

Jim Lowe’s Baycity Mobil, the only other gasoline station in the city, is now open seven days a week, and the R&M IGA is opening daily at 7 a.m., Finch said.

The fire broke out around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, just after the store had opened for the day.

By the time firefighters arrived moments later, the convenience store was in flames. Although they poured thousands of gallons of water on the fire, the structure was just a shell by the time it was put out.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called.

As of Sunday, Finch said, the city had not yet received an official report. But he said Wednesday the fire might be related to one of the generators in the store.

bdncalais@verizon.net

454-8228