Port Orange American Legion heavily damaged in overnight fire

Jan. 26--PORT ORANGE -- A fire broke out in the wee hours of Friday morning at American Legion Post 270, severely damaging the interior of the building.

Members say the alarm system alerted the department and fire crews from Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach and South Daytona helped put it out fairly quickly, but the damage was done.

By late morning, members were assessing the extent of the destruction and contemplating their loss at the 119 Howes St. building.

"Thank goodness nobody was in the building," said Bob McLaughlin, finance officer for Post 270. "No one got hurt."

But the fire, likely originated by an electrical short, is expected to put all Post 270 events there on hold for at least six months.

"They just about have to gut it and then rebuild," said McLaughlin.

Port Orange Fire Chief Ken Fustin said the emergency call came in around 2:20 a.m. and there was heavy smoke coming from the attic. Firefighters extinguished the flames in 20 minutes.

"The cause of the fire at this time is under investigation but undetermined," Fustin said.

McLaughlin said the post is covered by insurance, but it will still take quite some time to get the building back together. In the meantime, McLaughlin said, other clubs have already reached out to help in the ways they can.

"Post 361 has offered meeting space," McLaughlin said, "And the Eagles across the street have offered storage space for the things we can salvage. The other organizations have been great."

Post 270 has roughly 600 members between the Legion, the auxiliary and the motorcycle riding group that attend. Several were gathered outside the damaged building Friday, offering to help however they could. But McLaughlin said there really wasn't much anyone could do at this point.

"For a lot of people, this is their home," said Kevin Boyle, who was with his wife, Pam, a server at Post 270. "That's going to be the hard part."

Pam Boyle said there are connections that will be missed.

"A lot of these folks have lost family members, wives. They come here because they know they have family here," Pam Boyle said of the post's camaraderie. "For me, it's money. For them, it's home."

Those who want to help Post 270 can reach Bob McLaughlin at bobmac417@gmail.com.

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