The store's marketing director, Todd Root, said the company is confident it will be able to rebuild its business.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 11:11 this morning.
A firefighter directs water from the Ellington Fire Department's tower truck onto a building at the Kloter Farms complex in Ellington, Conn., Wednesday morning.By VANESSA JOHNSON
and MARCUS HATFIELD
Journal Inquirer of Manchester
ELLINGTON, Conn. – Fire destroyed the main building at Kloter Farms Inc.’s sprawling 16-acre complex at 216 West Road Wednesday, collapsing portions of the country store’s roof and causing millions of dollars in damage but resulting in no injuries, authorities said.
State Trooper Ronald Richardson said the fire was reported around 6:45 a.m., and that there were no injuries. The blaze was essentially extinguished within 45 minutes of the firefighters’ arrival, Richardson said.
The country store sold custom furniture, crafts, home décor, and other items at Kloter Farms, a large retail operation that also sells such things as gazeboes and sheds.
Fire officials will be investigating the cause of the fire through the day Wednesday, he added.
Chet Luginbuhl, a 24-year Kloter employee, said a fellow worker arrived before 7 a.m. to open the store, heard a “bang,” then left immediately. By the time Luginbuhl arrived a short time later he could see some flames and smoke, he said.
“These people did a fantastic job,” he said. “Who knows what would have happened if they hadn’t gotten here?”
Todd Root, director of marketing and communications for Kloter Farms, said the fire was contained to the country store. The surrounding structures, such as gazeboes and sheds that are part of Kloter’s outside sales, were not affected.
He said the fire caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
A lone female employee had been in the country store on the second floor when she heard an explosion below her, Root said. She escaped without injury and within minutes the building went up in flames, he said.
An employee who declined to be identified but who worked for Kloter Farms for four years was devastated by the fire.
“It’s horrible. We put so much work into this place,” she said.
Meanwhile, about 20 feet from the fire-ravaged building a group of employees and supporters huddled together, hugging each other as they wept.
Alice Teixeira, who lives near Kloter Farms and was awakened by the sound of sirens this morning, watched the building burn.
“I’m heartbroken for the people that won’t be able to work for a while,” she said. “This is a really sad, sad day.”
Ellington Deputy Fire Chief John Turner, who is also on the Board of Selectmen, said firefighters were on the scene within five minutes.
“I could see the fire from my house and there was already a heavy column of smoke,” Turner said.
When he arrived at the scene there was heavy fire in the building, he said.
Firefighters tried to go in to fight the blaze but the fire was too heavy and they had to back up, fearing the roof would collapse, which it did, he said. They were out of the building when a large part of the roof collapsed, he added.
Firefighters took a defensive position in fighting the fire, battling it in rotating crews due to the heat and humidity, he said. Some firefighters could be seen being provided water they rested on the side of the road. No firefighters were injured.
At one point firefighters could be seen retrieving a cabinet of computer servers out of the country store, checking them over for damage.
The Ellington Fire Department was assisted by firefighters from Crystal Lake, Somers, Tolland, and Vernon, while a crew from the Broad Brook Fire Department stood by ready to take any other Ellington fire calls.
Ellington First Selectman Maurice W. Blanchette said that the loss of the company, which employees about 50 people, would have an impact on business in town for some time, but workers were confident and determined that they will maintain operations.
“We’re strong, we’re in it for the long haul, and we will rebuild,” Peter Welti, a manager at Kloter Farms told Blanchette.
“When I got there around 8 a.m. flames were coming from the roof. By the time I left, 45 minutes later, there was just black smoke. The firefighters were still pouring a lot of water on the roof,” Blanchette said.
Route 83 and adjacent roads were blocked by a half-dozen fire trucks at the time of the fire. Some areas were reopened by 10 a.m., however, especially since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had to get through the area for a scheduled speech at 10:30 a.m. at nearby Dymotek, a plastic injection molding business at 7 Main St.
Root said that even as firefighters remained on site Kloter’s dealt with customers in its outside sales area, which was unaffected and will continue to welcome customers.
“We are confidant that we’ll be able to rebuild our business and we’ll likely open in the days ahead,” Root said.
He also said that the country store will have to be rebuilt but the site has 16 acres to work with so they’re reopen it somewhere else on the property, working with town zoning and fire officials to find the best place.
The Kloter website is still active and the business will still be taking phone orders, Root said.
Kloter Farms started in 1980 selling carriage houses from a shed on Route 83. The Kloter family business since then expanded into a large retail operation with a country store and outside sales that included ornate gazebos, swing sets, and sheds.
According to town records, the main building at Kloter Farms is a 12,501-square-foot structure with an appraised value of $1.93 million.
Journal Inquirer staff writers Howard French and Al Hemingway contributed to this report.