About 100 local firefighters came out from Phoenicia, Pine Hill, Big Indian, Fleischmanns, Olive, West Hurley and Woodstock companies Monday February 16 to fight a fire at the Key Bank on Main Street in Phoenicia. Although brought under control fairly quickly after being reported at around 9:30 p.m., keeping the basic structure largely intact except for some burnt rafters, the contents of the brick building were destroyed.
The safe in which the bank’s deposits were stored, however, was left intact and Key Bank has since said that it plans on rebuilding.
“We want to insure all customers that all client information and safety deposit boxes are secure,” read a statement released Tuesday morning from the bank’s main regional office in Poughkeepsie, and posted on the Town of Shandaken’s website. “We will schedule a time in the future for clients to access their safety deposit boxes. No specific time table of when we will re-open, but we will contact customers when we plan to. You may bank online or visit our other branches in Windham, Kingston or Stone Ridge.”
The fire, Main Street Phoenicia’s third major blaze in the past years, was reported by several near-simultaneous 911 calls. The fire seems to have started near the middle of the building, although an exact cause has yet to be determined by fire investigators who have been working at the site since Monday.
Firefighters used a hydrant directly across from the bank building, although freezing temperatures left Main Street and the immediate area around the Key Bank building coated in ice until the next day.
In 2007, the nearby Phoenicia Hotel burned to the ground, and in 2011 another fire devastated the Phoenicia Library within the same block. The library recently reopened after a major fundraising and renovation effort; the hotel site has not been redeveloped.
Key Bank has asked that any local customers with questions call 1-800-key2you.
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