What a way to begin the New Year!  On January 10, 2010 the Town of Ashland and the Ashland Fire Department suffered an unimaginable and catastrophic loss. 



An electrical problem in the Supervisor’s office started a fire which ravaged throughout the entire building, either spreading fire damage, water damage or both.  The entire Town of Ashland Government and the Town’s Fire Department were lost. We all stood there in a state of shock watching our building literally go up in smoke.

  The Town of Ashland Town Hall, located in the rear of the building, houses many offices:  Supervisor’s Office, Town Clerk, Assessor, Court, Building Inspector, Planning Board and the Tax Collector.  The front of the building and a small meeting room is leased by the Fire Department.  This building has been the heart of Ashland since 1974 which in the early years was a place to hold wedding receptions, meetings of all kinds, fund raisers and to host a local basketball game or two.

The fire has left us bewildered, somehow still believing that this must only be a dream!  The fire has left us overwhelmed.  It is very surreal when you show up to work the morning after and realize you don’t even have a pencil to work with.  The fire has left us humbled to realize the outpouring of donations of money and services, food, office supplies and equipment, just to name a few.

The loss has been catastrophic.  Not only were all the Town’s offices put out of business, but the Fire Department’s fire trucks and all of their equipment were lost.  For our firemen it was extremely frustrating watching the fire destroy all the years of work achievements and memories, standing there with their hands tied knowing that their equipment was inside destroyed.  The electricity was out so the doors could not be opened immediately.  They had to wait for someone to bring the backhoe to tear down the doors in order to get the trucks out.  Fire companies from Windham, Jewett, Prattsville, Hensonville, and Lexington responded without hesitation as all fire companies do in time of need.  The neighboring fire companies battled the blaze for several hours finally getting it under control.  There is a ray of light in all of this. All the vital statistics and the historical records were saved from the fireproof room in the rear of the building.  The firemen were able to cut out the back wall forming a firemen’s chain so that all the records could be handed down the line, loaded unto pick up trucks and taken to a nearby location.  There was no fire, smoke or water damage to any of these records. Wow! 

Now, a few weeks have gone by.  The dust has settled a little, very little.  The Town of Ashland is operating.  Our temporary offices are located at 11980 Route 23, in front of Wes’ Mobile Repair.  Recently we have added another trailer for the Court and the Assessor’s offices.  There have been many phone calls made and many meetings have taken place.  The Town can operate as usual, but with a different flare.  It is not home, but we are getting there.  We now have phone and internet service and can communicate with the outside world.  The Fire Department has a trailer in the parking lot of the Town Hall and they are up and running.

Most of the Town’s documents have been towed away to a restoration facility.  It is our hope to get those documents back soon, restored to about 98%.  As far as the Town’s general working files it is amazing how little was actually burned and how much we will be able to retrieve.  All of the working files for the Water District and the Sewer Plant were destroyed, but we are working on re-constructing those files too.

Since the fire, several of the ambulance personnel have been busy, going through all the equipment and supplies that were on the ambulance that was stored in the firehouse.  As of now, it appears that most of the equipment that was inside the compartments of the ambulance is cleanable and or restorable.

We were very fortunate that our old ambulance was not involved in the fire and was stored in another location, since we were out of room at the firehouse..  Due to a really great turnout of ambulance people during the fire, they were able to supply firefighter rehab throughout the incident, and at the same time respond mutual aid to a serious accident in Windham.  This was possible with mutual aid to our fire scene by Prattsville Rescue.  Windham Ambulance was also on the scene to assist with firefighter rehab.

We also were advised that the adjuster had determined that the new ambulance involved in the fire was a total loss.  The Town Board at a recent meeting ordered a new ambulance to replace it.  We were able to find an ambulance identical to the one lost, only a year newer.  It should be delivered the week of February 1 and should be in service shortly thereafter.

A dedicated group of firemen have been in and around the firehouse cleaning up and sorting through the debris.  They have taken on the task of arranging for equipment to use in the interim to protect the town until permanent arrangements can be made.  So if there are any concerns about fire protection for our residents, there shouldn’t be.  They got it covered.  This has been an ongoing project for weeks and continues today.  The Fire District Commissioners have also been very busy with many meetings to arrange for places to store the “loaned fire equipment” and installing temporary power hook up for a construction trailer for a meeting place.  Additionally, the fire siren was also moved and rewired in a new location and is awaiting some parts that are on back order.  It should be operational within a few days.

Many thanks go out to our neighboring towns and also some fairly distant towns for offers and donations of office furniture/equipment and supplies.  We also want to be sure to thank our county government for their assistance so far and for their offers of help in our rebuilding efforts.  We can’t say enough for the outpouring of support that we have experienced during and after this incident, including, but not limited to donations of time and materials to get the town government and the fire district up and running.  Although we would like to attempt to list the people and businesses involved, the list is truly voluminous and we are sure several of them would be forgotten.  So, a heartfelt THANK YOU to each one of you!

In the near and not so near future, a lot of decisions will be made to move forward with long term plans.  It is our hope that we can apply the same co-operative approach that has brought us through this tough time so far.

In the next few weeks look for signs of life at the old Town Hall.  The building will be demolished and the Town Officials and the Fire Commissioners will be hard at work planning for the new building and making plans for the new construction.

Both the Town Hall and the Fire District will fall short financially due to the inflation of costs over the years in relation to insurance.  Since the Town and the Fire Department are two different entities, the following funds have been established if you would like to donate to our re-building efforts.  You can send your donations to:

During this stressful time there is one thing that is very clear.  This is the greatest place on earth to live. The response for help has been overwhelming.  There is nothing like the pulling together of a community during times of crisis. Although we would rather not be on the receiving end, we do realize that with bad always comes good and we are so grateful for our caring neighbors.

We will continue to update this website with pictures and information during the re-building process.  Please visit us regularly for additional information.