BELLEFONTE-The Bellefonte community is trying to recover from another major fire in the Bellefonte Historic District.
The fire this past weekend has severely damaged two more of the anchor buildings in the downtown Bellefonte Historic District: the Hotel Do De and the Garman Theater.
There is currently no word from the fire marshal as to the cause of the fire. It is also not known if there is any recoverable part of the buildings.
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VANA DAINTY/FOR THE EXPRESS
The Upside of High Street next to the Centre County Court House, now has a fence surround the Hotel Do De and the Garman Theater. This is to get traffic and pedestrians away from the building if they should decide to crumble.
Speaking with Bobbi Dann, daughter-in-law of John Dann and owner of the Hotel Do De, she said, "The fire has been very hard for all of our family. We have talked to the insurance company but the cause of the fire has not been determined and there is nothing that will (make us) happy until the cause of the fire has been established. We want to thank the community for their support and the fire companies for everything they did. The job they did was above the call of duty."
Romaine Naylor, of the State College Red Cross office, said, "There are 20 families displaced and a total of 27 people ranging in age from 4 to 83 years. All of the 27 people have been placed with temporary housing, either with family or friend or a hotel. The hotel rooms will not last long so those people will be a priority.
"The night of the fire, the Salvation Army was on site with a canteen for the emergency responders and the American Red Cross for the displaced families. The Faith Center opened their doors so the families would have a warm place to be. While the families were waiting for help they picked out a couple of sets of clothing.
"There have been a lot of agencies stepping up to help the families and the response has been amazing. We have even received help for a veteran association in Pompano Beach Florida."
Romaine continued, "The Red Cross has reestablished its Disaster Relief Committee from several years ago. All the agencies will be in one place so the victims can receive the help they need. The time will be on Wednesday at 9 a.m. until noon and on Thursday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. The place has not be determined at this time."
For the complete story, see today's print edition of the Lock Haven Express.
