After devastating fire, remnants of iconic New Hartford House are demolished

As a massive John Deere excavator ripped through burned floorboards, scorched support beams and wobbly brick walls Wednesday, the remnants of the historic New Hartford House slowly crumbled.

Several dozen people stood behind yellow safety lines near the town center for hours to video the demolition of the town’s iconic building, which was gutted early Tuesday by a three-alarm fire.

First Selectman Daniel Jerram comforted a few longtime residents who watched with a mix of fascination and sadness as the façade was gradually broken into rubble.

“Our hearts wanted to save the building, but our heads — and our inspectors and engineers — said it was beyond repair,” Jerram said.

After consulting with the town’s building inspector, fire marshal and attorney, Jerram issued an emergency demolition order.

Right after the fire, some residents expressed hope that the well-known façade — with second-floor wooden balcony and clocktower — could be salvaged.

The 124-year-old brick walls facing Bridge Street and Route 44 appeared intact, but nearly everything behind them had burned. Interior floors were largely collapsed, and flames had devoured the rear walls and roof.

“What you could see from the street was a mirage — nothing was holding it up,” Jerram said.

At an emergency meeting Tuesday night, the owner’s insurer and engineers agreed with town inspectors that the façade had to come down right away.

The New Hartford House was in the center of town, alongside town hall and other businesses and apartment buildings. A partial collapse of the façade could jeopardize anyone nearby, and would be a major threat to traffic on busy Route 44, Jerram said.

The highway has been closed since the fire, with motorists heading to the Farmington Valley or the Northwest Corner forced to detour.

Route 44 is frequently used by tractor trailers, and town officials were concerned that traffic vibrations could cause a collapse. Town engineers concluded it wasn’t feasible to erect an extensive framework of metal supports to stabilize the walls, and the owner’s engineers agreed, Jerram said.

The town hurriedly sought bids from qualified contractors, and hired Environmental Services Inc. of South Windsor to demolish the wreckage, haul it away and do any necessary environmental cleanup. The town will pay the company $150,000 to $200,000, and will look to the property owner or its insurer for reimbursement.

By late Wednesday morning, workers had spread sand along Route 44 and the sidewalk to protect against damage from falling debris. An Environmental Services employee operated a 65,000-pound John Deere excavator to slowly break apart the buildings remnants, periodically dislodging a bath tub, a futon frame, a store’s safe and thick wads of pink insulation.

New Hartford is working with the American Red Cross to help about a dozen families who lost their belongings when the second- and third-floor apartments burned. The town is also trying to help roughly a half-dozen first-floor businesses that were wiped out.

No tenants were hurt by the fire, but a young Burlington firefighter was hospitalized after suffering what authorities called a serious medical incident.

Jerram said the loss of the landmark was devastating, but the town couldn’t take the risk of leaving the façade in place.

“We agreed we can’t create a situation where there could be a second tragedy with people hurt — that just can’t happen,” he said.

Middlefield-based DHA Properties LLC, bought the property last month for $897,000. Jerram said DHA has insurance, and said the town will help determine if there are available grants to help with rebuilding to the original appearance. U.S. Rep. John Larson’s office called him Tuesday night to offer help, Jerram said.

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