Investigators were searching for a cause for the blaze on Saturday.
SOUTH HADLEY – Investigators were combing through the wreckage of the Dockside restaurant at Brunelle’s Marina Saturday, searching for clues about how and where a fire at the marina started on Friday.
“We’re still investigating. We brought the heavy equipment in today,” South Hadley Fire District 1 Chief Robert R. Authier said. “Unfortunately, these things take time.”
Authier’s department and investigators from the state fire marshal’s office were on the scene most of the day, sifting through the blackened remains of the restaurant and service center. Fire also burned the showroom, although all eight boats were salvaged. Authier said the damage was so extensive at the facility that he called it a total loss. All of the businesses were connected.
He said they were concentrating on the center bar area for the investigation because that’s where the first smoke detector went off. The fire department was alerted by the alarm company at 6:25 a.m. on Friday about the smoke detector sounding. Authier said the next message they received as they were en route to the scene was that all the fire alarms were going off.
Nearly 70 firefighters from several communities responded to the five-alarm blaze.
Crews from Marion Excavating start to raze the former Dockside Restaurant at Brunelle's Marina on Saturday. The facility burned during a multi-alarm fire on Friday.
Meanwhile, it was business as usual on the Connecticut River, with plenty of boaters taking their boats out to enjoy a summer day on the water. That part of the business was unaffected. With the restaurant closed, Brunelle’s offered hot dogs and hamburgers under its event tent for patrons. Co-owner Luke A. Brunelle Jr. said the tent will be open Sunday as well, noting he holds a seasonal liquor license for it.
“We’ll develop a better plan as the week goes on,” Brunelle, 50, said.
Brunelle repeated his vow to rebuild. The marina was started by his family in 1959. His father, co-owner Luke A. Brunelle Sr., 83, also was at the scene on Saturday. The business was started by Luke Brunelle Sr., his brother Richard and parents Alphonse and Beatrice. They have 150 boat slips.
“Fifty-five years ago we built this place. Now it’s going to be better,” the elder Brunelle said.
Luke Brunelle Sr. said he was thankful no one was hurt, and that family members intend to rebuild as soon as they can. He said he already picked a contractor to do the work - Associated Builders in South Hadley - and that rebuilding will continue through the winter. He said it’s been a tough season, but used a quote from his mother, who would say, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”
High water levels forced the marina to close its ramps several times this season.
Wally C. Lailer, of Southampton, visited Brunelle’s by boat to see the aftermath. Lailer said he is a frequent visitor. He was with Merv Broussard, owner of Mitch’s Marina in Hadley, who was visiting to show support for a fellow marina.
“It’s a blow to them obviously, but they’ll come back,” Broussard said.
Karen A. Pelczar, of Chicopee, was getting ready to go out on the river in her son Jason’s boat.
“It’s too bad,” she said about the fire. “It’s sad to see it.”
Pelczar said after a day of boating, they often would eat at Dockside. She liked the stuffed mushrooms and seafood pizza.
As the marina’s cruise boat, the Lady Bea, sounded its horn, Luke Brunelle Jr. said, “That sounds a helluva lot better than a fire horn.”
The Lady Bea cruises are running, and updates are being posted on the Dockside- Brunelle's Facebook page.