LOCAL

Dover fire: One year later, families and businesses still rebuilding

Jessie Gomez
Morristown Daily Record

Yuriana and Armando Lopez stood in front of their brand-new restaurant holding their year-old son, Armando, in their arms and watched all their dreams go up in smoke. 

“Ese día, cayó todo y ya," Yuriana said in her native Spanish. That day, one year ago on Tuesday, she said, everything fell and that was it.

The aftermath of a devastating fire on North Warren Street in Dover that collapsed multiple businesses in a fast-moving, seven-alarm blaze that officials say started in the basement of Barry's restaurant. The fire then spread throughout the building and to others nearby that contained businesses and apartments Displacing about 100 people from their homes. October 23, 2018, Dover, NJ

They were not the only ones devastated by the seven-alarm fire on Oct. 22, 2018. Six businesses were destroyed and more than 80 residents displaced when the fire destroyed four downtown Dover buildings. 

One year after the fire, all that remains at the site is an empty lot as residents and business owners try to get back on their feet. 

The Lopez family bounced back quickly after the fire and reopened their restaurant, La Bamba, several months later at a nearby location.  

The new La Bamba restaurant, rebuilt after a fire destroyed the original in downtown Dover on Oct. 22, 2018.

But Yuriana never forgets the moment when the fire took their small nine-table, one employee Mexican restaurant. She was about to take a break and enjoy a meal with her husband when all of a sudden they were told to evacuate. 

Less than two months after the fire, with their insurance money and some help from their new landlord, the couple opened a new and improved La Bamba with 25 tables and hired six employees. 

“Si podíamos la primera vez, la segunda vez también podemos." If we could do it the first time, Yuriana said, then we can do it the second time.

Of the seven restaurants destroyed, three, including La Bamba, have since reopened. Brenda Lee Restaurant and La Notaria are back in business, also at different locations. 

The fire

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office led the investigation into the fire and, according to its report, did not find the origin or the cause of the fire or any reason to deem the incident suspicious. 

The inferno, fire officials said, was fed by natural gas lines and the 100-year-old wood of buildings in the downtown business district. There were no deaths or injuries when the buildings burned. The next day, crews demolished what was left standing. 

The blaze took away safe havens and a number of community staples, and left in its place dirt and rocks. On the first anniversary of the fire, there are no plans to rebuild on the site. 

Robert Schwarz was one of the property owners who lost buildings that day. He said he has no plans to rebuild. 

While town officials say there are no plans for the empty North Warren Street lot as of now, Dover did purchase several properties across the street last year on West Blackwell, North Warren and Bassett Highway, where it will put a new municipal building. 

The aftermath of a devastating fire on North Warren Street in Dover that collapsed multiple businesses in a fast-moving, seven-alarm blaze that officials say started in the basement of Barry's restaurant. The fire then spread throughout the building and to others nearby that contained businesses and apartments Displacing about 100 people from their homes. October 23, 2018, Dover, NJ

The residents

Of the roughly 40 families that lost their homes, only 13 have remained in Dover. The others left the area.

Alexis Martinez, who lived above one of the restaurants with his wife, Erica, and their daughter, has tried to put the fire behind him, but the memories still haunt him. He vividly remembers that day and the fear he felt when he heard that his wife and daughter were inside the burning building as he ran an errand.

Alexis said he was at the pharmacy when Erica, who was recovering from heart surgery earlier in the year, called to tell him Barry's and La Bamba restaurants downstairs were on fire. 

“When I left the pharmacy, all I could see was the huge smoke that was coming out from the apartments,” Alexis said. 

Patrons of Brenda Lee Restaurant gather for dinner Friday night at the restaurant's grand reopening. Brenda Lee's is one of three restaurants that have reopened since a fire in 2018 destroyed their business and six others.

Erica said she was about to have some food with her daughter, who had just come home from school. She said she learned of the fire when a friend called to make sure she was OK. She stepped into the hallway and saw that it was filled with smoke. She grabbed her daughter and her cellphone, and they ran out of the building. 

“If I would have stayed inside for another five minutes, I would have been burned with my daughter,” Erica said. 

Outside, the streets were filled with firefighters trying to control the blaze. Dozens of residents, some crying, saw their homes and memories crumble to ashes. Alexis was reunited with his crying wife and daughter, and they watched their apartment go up in flames.  

The Martinez family, just as many others did, slept in a school gymnasium turned shelter, after they lost their home.

Desperate to bring his family back together, Alexis, unable to work as a result of a fall, grabbed his cane and walked the streets of Dover for three weeks straight, he said. He finally found someone who would rent him an apartment in his price range.  

“Ahora a empezar una nueva vida, sin nada." Now, to start a new life, with nothing, Alexis said. 

The family still struggles financially and is dealing with some immigration issues. 

“God is great, and we did receive lots of help from the community. Food, clothes, things for our house. Much help,” Alexis said. “Yo me acuerdo bien de lo que sufrimos." I remember what we suffered, he said. But sometimes things happen for the better, he added. 

Jessie Gomez is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com and NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jgomez@gannettnj.com Twitter: @jessiereport