Coming Together

Residents and businesses of Willoughby handled a recent crisis with competence and compassion.

The first sign was a thick plume of black smoke rising from the center of the new construction along Mentor Avenue. The call came at 5:49 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2023. By the time Willoughby Fire Chief Todd Ungar arrived less than five minutes later, the building was engulfed in orange flames roiling over 100 feet into the pre-dawn sky.

The Chagrin Riverwalk apartments were already a lost cause.

“I realized the moment I saw it, that there would be no amount of water that could extinguish a fire like that,” says Ungar. “And since there was no one in the building, because it was under construction, we made the decision to evacuate and protect the buildings to the east and west. Our main goal at that point was to preserve human life first and protect the other properties second.”

The Willoughby Police entered occupied buildings and pulled the fire alarms, expediting the evacuation. Some 20 different fire-fighting agencies from across Lake County answered the call to help fight the blaze, which caused damage estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

They did a good job of it. There were no fatalities. Only one Willoughby firefighter was injured. And hundreds of people and their pets were evacuated without so much as a cut, even while dodging bits of falling, razor-sharp glass.

But it wasn’t easy.

The conflagration was so intense that it buckled the siding on the buildings to the west. At the east building, not only did the windows explode, but some cars burst into flames.

The denizens of the east building ventured forth shielding their faces against the searing heat, unable to access their cars — many in bathrobes, pajamas, slippers and flip flops. Once away from danger, they realized that it was only 22 degrees.

This is where our story really starts.

While the fire destroyed property and put lives in danger, it also ignited a spirit of community well-known to the residents of Willoughby, an East Side suburb known as the Courtesy City. And the businesses that call this community home were among the first to respond to the needs of the evacuees.

Crossing Mentor Avenue, many fled to the Speedway gas station on the south corner of Kirtland Road.

“Come in — get warm,” the manager yelled. “Make room, everyone. Come in here — get warm.”

The coffee was free. Then so were the donuts. Later, they were feeding everyone breakfast sandwiches. There wasn’t any expectation of pay. Indeed, many didn’t have their wallets or purses with them.

“For such a large company like Speedway to just step up like that and say, ‘take whatever you want, stay as long as you’d like,’ is just outstanding,” says Ungar.

“Sure, I know how much it cost, but I’d rather not say,” says George Ogeka, area leader for Speedway, whose store was used as a makeshift refugee center. “This isn’t about money — it’s more about the people you have to help.”

When Mentor Fire Chief Robert Searles arrived on the scene, he could see that Chief Ungar was understandably preoccupied.

“So Bob told me that he would take care of our evacuees,” Ungar recalls.

Chief Searles called Laketran, whose CEO Ben Capelle just happens to be the next-door neighbor of Chief Ungar. Laketran had a warming bus on site within 20 minutes — which is just about the same amount of time it takes to drive from Laketran’s Grand River headquarters to downtown Willoughby. That means they left immediately.

“We work very closely with the various fire departments, police departments and other agencies in Lake County,” says Capelle. “We consider ourselves a first responder when necessary. Those people needed someplace to stay warm, and one of our large charter buses fills that need very well.”

After the fire had been brought under some semblance of control, Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala’s office called Arabica Willoughby to see if they could get some coffee, pastries and breakfast sandwiches for the tired and hungry firefighters. They wanted to pay for what was a very large takeout order.

But owners Tim Snider and his wife Tina weren’t having any of it.

“I told them they could just have it,” Tim Snider says. “This town has been great to us. Everyone has to do their part when people need help.”

Naturally, the Red Cross was instrumental in making sure evacuees were taken care of, providing shelter, food and beverages, says Ungar.

“The Disaster Program Manager for the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio, Tom Revolinsky, coordinated with Chief Ungar and building management to help residents who had been evacuated and responders by providing water, coffee and snacks,” says Jim McIntyre, regional communications director for the American Red Cross. “We provided refreshments to about 60 people on the scene that day.”

Some eyewitnesses said they saw boxes of donuts and snacks from Biagio’s in Eastlake, although the owner did not want to take any credit. The next day the Wild Goose in downtown Willoughby sent pizza to the police and fire departments. There were others who helped as well, many of whom wish to remain anonymous.

“And don’t forget Marous Brothers,” adds Chief Ungar. “Even though this was devastating to their company, we relied heavily on their excavation abilities to get the debris extinguished. Had they not brought in crews to pull the rubble apart, we would have been there for days trying to completely put out all of the fire.”

For the residents of the buildings to the immediate east and west of the great Chagrin Riverwalk fire, the help came at a time when they were both vulnerable and traumatized. It came from people who wanted nothing more than to help. And while the fire will be burned into each resident’s memory, so, too, will the spirit of community that came from the first responders, neighbors and businesses of this community, which calls itself the Courtesy City.

Just one of several burned cars

JUNE 22-24

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

2023 Performers

• Herbie Hancock

• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

• Angélique Kidjo

• Richard Bona Presents ASANTE Trio Featuring Osmany Paredes (Piano) and ÍIario Bell (Drums)

• Dominick Farinacci and Triad

• Samara Joy

• Christian McBride

• Dan Wilson: 7 Decades of Wonder: The Genius of Stevie

• Braxton Cook

• Norman Brown

• Gerald Albright

• Steve Smith and Vital Information: Steve Smith (Drums), Manuel Valera (Keys), Janek Gwizdala (Bass)

Get tickets and passes at tri-cjazzfest.com

CREATIVITY // BY CHRISTINA EASTER