At 9:30pm, June 2, 2023 we had a fire next to our house starting in the 1884 barn. Richard was the only one home who was in the living room at the time and who witnessed the fire first. Miles Jr. and Lisa and Richard’s wife, Morgan, were not at home. Morgan and Lisa arrived at the house a little after 10pm. Miles Jr. was driving back from Albany and arrived at the house at 11:30pm. Racheal arrived 12:30am Saturday morning, Wesley arrived Saturday night, Miles III arrived Sunday afternoon and Anna Marie, Tobin & Aspen arrived from Michigan Sunday night. Praise God that no one was hurt amidst all of this occurring, we are forever grateful.
Richard had heard a pop and crackle noise and saw flames coming out the side of the barn through the living room window. 911 was immediately called as he ran outside to look at the fire. Richard ran into the house to get Mack out of his crate and was able to grab his wallet, the business shop keys and then run back outside. At this point the barn was fully in flames and the two windows to the sunroom of our house had shattered from the heat. A car from route 23 drove down to our house because they saw the fire and Richard was able to hand them Mack, our other older dog, Gunner, was brought to safety by another family friend. We still do not know who this kind lady was. Richard is incredibly grateful for her being there and words cannot express how he felt in that moment and now. With this woman able to care for Mack, Richard was able to move a lot of the trucks and trailers that were near the business buildings away as he was anticipating the fire to spread. While he was moving the trucks and trailers the barn was fully in flames and side of the house (the sunroom and the entrance to the basement) was catching fire and smoke was seeping into the basement and the house.
The first fire truck showed up 3 ½ minutes after they were dispatched. They immediately called a second alarm for more units and were spraying down the house and protecting it. The fire crews were pulling hoses through the front door of the house through the kitchen and were able to stop the fire from spreading and saved the house. There was a crew still constantly monitoring the house throughout the night.
The fire progressed from the 1884 barn through the trusses over the shop garage and crews fought to put it out. Richard was actively and efficiently navigating the firefighters the construction of the business buildings such as the attic crawl space but because of the heat some of their helmets and gear were being melted in those spaces. Wantage Excavating had a large excavator nearby and because the fire was not letting up and how hot the buildings still were. They were able to help us by pulling the roof apart to help stop the fire from continuing, which was crucial and we are so thankful.
Over the course of 5-6 hours, we had about 15 different fire departments at the property, including 1 from Pennsylvania, to help control the fire. That includes approximately 50-60 fire trucks and approximately 250 firefighters on the property. There were 2 to 3 fire trucks stationed at the river which was in close proximity to the buildings that the fire trucks were able to pump from to help put out the fire. They had upwards of 3,000 gallons per minute being pumped onto the buildings.
Richard & Morgan, Miles & Lisa and Racheal all left the property at 3am Saturday morning while the firefighters still worked.
We arrived back to the scene Saturday morning at 6:30am and saw that we ended up losing the 1884 barn, all 4 bays of the mechanic shop (the building right next to the 1884 barn and what was inside: half a dozen mowers and a pickup), most of the new office building (3 months new) and the sunroom and the basement of the house is burnt and/or severely water and smoke damaged. Throughout the entire house there is varying degrees of smoke damage to the furniture, and other items on each floor.
We had around 50 people helping out in varying capacities between cleanup and saving what we could from the piles of what was burned. There are not enough words to say how blessed we feel by the outpouring of love by our friends and family and complete surrendering of their time to help us with this loss. We thank those who were there with us that night and well into the morning and the days following. We have felt God’s hand amid the ashes here on the property. The buildings are temporary but our God is not. We hold on to the eternal and unfading hope with have in Jesus. God is sovereign overall and has been so good to us. We saw a lot of moments throughout this fire that we felt the power of prayer, heard it and saw it be answered in ways we didn’t ask for it but God provided.
The cause of the fire is not yet official, so we thank you all for your concerns as we focus on rebuilding on the property. The 1884 barn will continue to remain untouched until the fire marshal has completed his investigation. While we wait, we are able to clean up and create plans for the business buildings and the house around the 1884 barn. The work that has been done already in regards to the house is the sunroom has been gutted with floor removal and is now down to studs and the basement ceiling and flooring has been removed and all furniture has been disposed. All contents in the house have been inventoried via photos, written down and disposed for insurance. The work that has been done already now in regards to the business includes: the administrative office (the new build), the kitchen, sheet rock, furniture, work station and all electronics have been disposed of. The trusses over this same building will need to be removed and re-installed. The mechanic shop has had all concrete removed and gravel has been laid down.
As for where the business is relocating during this rebuilding time. The mechanic is moving to the building that was not impacted by the fire, also known as the storage barn. The production team have office trailers that came in this week and are furnished with power, communication and furniture. Administration has moved up to the house and fully operational. As for construction, the architectural plans are being updated and completed this upcoming week. We will be working closely with the insurance company to bring everything that is required for them to finalize this process.
We cannot say thank you enough to our community. We are forever grateful; God is forever faithful and no time is ever wasted in God’s timeline. On behalf of the Kuperus family, thank you so much for the cards, meals, prayers, donations, text messages, phone calls, notes and continual support as each day is a new day.
Thank you to those who have reached out in terms of donations. Please be patient while we figure out the next steps. We will update you all as soon as we can.
