State and local officials met in Natick Friday with business owners to map out a recovery plan for Monday’s massive fire, which destroyed a commercial building in the center of town. About 25 people, some visibly crying, attended the meeting at Natick Town Hall.
State Senate President Karen Spilka’s district includes Natick, and she said state and local leaders and the community are marshaling resources to assist business owners in every way possible.
“We will try to help them identify how to get going again," she said, even though "it hasn’t even been a week.”
Monday’s 9-alarm fire broke out at 1:30 a.m., in a 120-year old commercial building at the corner of Pond and South Main Streets. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting the stubborn blaze for hours. Eight businesses were destroyed, and several other adjacent businesses had smoke and water damage.
Rep. David Linksy of Natick said everyone is working together to help set up a recovery plan, because small businesses are the heart of the town.
“This is a tight community, and we support the small local businesses in Natick,” he said.
“What I wanted to get out of the meeting today was the resources that might be available to me, but more importantly to my employees,“ said Jill Hourihan, owner of Metro Pets, a pet grooming boutique destroyed in the fire.
A nonprofit agency, Natick Center Associates, has set up a Natick fire relief fund, and a local bank has donated $10,000. A barber shop that suffered smoke and water damage is set to re-open tomorrow. A second a resource-rebuild meeting is scheduled for next Thursday.
