John's Pass fire destroys 9 businesses
Posted by: 
debbado
N 27° 47.165 W 082° 46.974
17R E 324339 N 3074780
A fire in John's Pass Village & Boardwalk on Madeira Beach. Everything has since been rebuilt.
Waymark Code: WM6AY1
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/05/2009
Views: 6
By AMY WIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 15, 2000
MADEIRA BEACH -- Shelves were stocked; store owners were psyched. After a long, slow off-season, the mid-February tourist boom had arrived at John's Pass Village.
But in the early morning darkness Monday, many of those merchants -- some called out of bed by a friend, some by a fire alarm -- gathered outside their shops, watching flames shoot 30 feet into the sky.
By late Monday afternoon, fire investigators said it was arson.
"Everyone just had a sinking feeling," merchant Al Griffiths said of the atmosphere in the early morning hours at John's Pass Village, where store owners alternately comforted one another and kept to themselves. "You kind of suffer through the slow times together here."
Griffiths owned four stores at the village and three were destroyed. An estimated nine businesses were destroyed in the two-story, concrete block and wood building and six were damaged. Madeira Beach Fire Chief Brian Turini said damage to the building alone would be $1-million.
But city officials and John's Pass area merchants emphasize a different, more positive, figure: the number of businesses not damaged or destroyed. Those shops will need the normal flurry of activity during tourist season to make it through the year -- not a misperception that John's Pass Village burned to the ground.
"There's 120 businesses down here, and there's 100 of them that aren't affected," Madeira Beach City Manager Mike Bonfield said Monday.
Pat Shontz, who owns restaurants in John's Pass Village and also led a citizens advisory committee on its redevelopment, called the fire "a tragic thing for the city at this particular time of year." She hopes the remaining merchants can work together for a successful tourist season.
"It's going to take a lot of teamwork," Shontz said. "We can get together and come out of this thing just fine."
The fire was reported at 2:17 a.m. Monday after a cab driver traveling through John's Pass Village noticed flames coming from a trash can in front of the shopping center.
By the time firefighters arrived, Turini said, flames were shooting from at least two of the stores.
About 100 firefighters from eight departments responded and had the fire under control within about 90 minutes, he said. A northward wind helped spread the blaze, making it more difficult to contain, Turini said.
Palm Harbor Fire Department Inspector Jim Fletcher and his dog, Scout, repeatedly scoured the fire-damaged stores, searching for evidence of gasoline or another accelerant that might have been involved in the fire.
Monday afternoon, Turini ruled out several possible causes and confirmed that Scout had found evidence that would indicate arson. Turini said investigators have interviewed several people, but have named no suspects and do not have anyone in custody.
The building's owner, Paul Straubinger, said he is eager to rebuild and that his tenants are eager to get back to their businesses. City officials said the structure was insured, though it was unclear Monday whether all of the shop owners had insured their inventories.
"We'll fix it up as best we can," Straubinger said.
The fire occurred at a turning point for John's Pass Village. Madeira Beach is embarking on a $1.2-million redevelopment project designed to bring new life to the aging tourist draw. The fire occurred in the section that was scheduled to receive the first improvements beginning May 1.
Bonfield said the fire will scarcely affect redevelopment plans. The city could delay adding planned trees, benches and other amenities to the area, but Bonfield said he doubts even that would happen.
Mike Damato, owner of two stores destroyed in the fire, stood in dazed disbelief hours after the flames had been extinguished.
"It is devastating for all of us," Damato said. "We have insurance, but this is the busiest part of the season and I don't know if it will cover the damage and lost business. We just want to have our stores up and running again as soon as possible."
-- Times researcher Kitty Bennett and correspondent Sheila Mullane Estrada contributed to this report.
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 02/15/2000
Publication: St. Petersburg Times
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: regional
News Category: Crime
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