HARDWICK – Patrons arriving at 9 South Main Street looking for walk-in appointments with NIkki the Barber early last week encountered a locked door and a bright red sign from the Vermont Division of Fire Safety marked “Stop Work Order, No Entry.” signed by Assistant State Fire Marshall Shawn Goodell.
Goodell said an oil spoil had been discovered on the building and residents had been evacuated.
Hardwick Town Manager, David Upson said residents had reported the smell of oil in the building on Sunday, Nov. 17, and the fire department was dispatched to investigate.
Tuesday, Nov. 19, a Clip Joint & Co. Facebook page noted the shop was closed until further notice, advising customers, “It is with a heavy heart we announce that over the weekend the building sustained a substantial fuel leak, and we are currently unable to occupy the salon. We are waiting to have the damage assessed to know when we will be able to reopen.
Lucy Leriche, interim executive director of Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP), the building’s owner, said a malfunction of the sensor filling an oil bladder on the first floor, where the boiler is, allowed oil to continue onto the floor, into the ceiling, then down through walls and onto the retail floor where the Clip Joint and Nikki the Barber share space.
Residents were evacuated successfully and will remain housed elsewhere until the problem is resolved, said Leriche. The worst damage is to the commercial space, she said.
Friday of last week, Leriche said the damaged areas were being demolished in preparation for mitigation of the damage, but she wasn’t ready to estimate how long it might be before the buildings’ residents and business tenants could return.
courtesy photo
She said LHP’s insurance company has been involved, but stuff breaks. “LHP will be investigating ways to re-engineer the system to lower the future risk of a similar problem.”
The spill came at an inopportune time as LHP plans to transfer management of the building to RuralEdge on December 1, along with its other Hardwick properties. Despite the unfortunate timing, Leriche noted it will be good to have it out of the way, rather than having had it happen a few weeks later as LHP and RuralEdge are entering a new relationship.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
