Stroudsburg’s Sew & Vac, burned for third time, vows to return
By Christina Tatu, Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"We are taking it day by day," owner
For the foreseeable future, Pocono Sew & Vac will operate its repair business at
The situation isn't one unfamiliar to Jermain. Saturday's fire was the third to affect the business during its 35-year history on
Witnesses to Saturday's fire reported seeing flames coming from an apartment above the store. As of Monday, the cause of the fire was still under investigation. It started in an apartment on the second floor of the building, said Stroudsburg Assistant Fire Chief
It's unclear at this time whether the building will be able to be re-occupied.
The first fire to affect Pocono Sew & Vac started on
That fire started in the rear workshop of Flowerland while the store was closed. It's believed to have been caused by a light left on overnight, which apparently generated enough heat to ignite dried flowers on a workbench.
After the 1982 fire, Jermain and his wife,
1996 fire
The second fire happened in
In
On Monday, Jermain was still waiting on his insurance company to determine if he might be able to sell, for a discounted rate, some of the new sewing machines that were on the sales floor at the time of the fire.
Longtime employee
"We were very lucky, very lucky it wasn't worse," said Kasebier, who has worked there for about 17 years.
Loyal customers
Kasebier was conducting a class at the time the fire started. An alarm sounded, and someone said there was a fire.
"Everyone in the class and the store just started grabbing things that had been brought in for repair," she said.
Luckily, the majority of items waiting for repair were removed from the store. Dunkelberger's Sports Outfitters lent a truck so the Jermains could help move items.
Both Jermain and Kasebier noted how loyal the store's customers have been. There are some who travel up to three to four hours away just for Sew & Vac's services.
On Monday, two customers from
"It's really the whole downtown and people coming together," she said.
Prior to becoming Pocono Sew & Vac, it was a Singer sewing machine store, Kasebier said. She remembers her mother and grandmother shopping there when she was a little girl.
"I know we'll be back. We've done it before, and we'll do it again," she said.
As of Monday, the
Today,
The building is owned by the
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