As he surveyed what once was his dental practice, Keary Bewick tried to think about his next steps.
“We’re pretty much trying to develop a plan of attack and being pretty much numb to the volume of what has to be done between now and whenever I see my next patient,” Bewick said, assessing the total destruction to the building that housed his practice for nearly two years.
Flames engulfed the building Sunday evening at the corner of Swanson Road and U.S. 6, housing La Cabana II restaurant, Bewick’s dental office and A License To Drive, a driver education business. The 25-year-old building once was a Kelsey’s Steak House.
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Up to 75 firefighters from four departments — Portage, Ogden Dunes, Union Township and South Haven — responded to the massive fire, which appears to have started in the restaurant, said Portage Fire Department Assistant Chief Tim Sosby.
Restaurant employees contacted the Portage Fire Department after noticing smoke about 6 p.m. Firefighters evacuated the building when they realized the fire reached the common attic all three businesses shared.
Early Monday afternoon, a plume of white smoke emerged from the middle of the site, drawing another fire crew to prevent any flare-ups, said Sosby, a 27-year firefighting veteran.
All fires are devastating, because they destroy property and much more, he added, but the fire Sunday was “one of the few fires I’ve seen that’s knocked out three businesses. That makes it pretty devastating.”
The investigation continued Monday, but Sosby said it appears the fire was an accident, and there was no reason to suspect foul play.
Wearing construction hard hats and boots, Keary Bewick and his wife, Becky Bewick, continued to search their 15-room office suite to try to save anything they could. The stench of smoke filled the place, and mounds of soaked insulation, drywall and other debris covered hallway and office floors.
The Valparaiso residents maneuvered through puddles to try to find records, dental instruments, photos and anything else that could be salvaged.
Bewick said he has had dental practices in the Miller section of Gary, Lake Station and another site in Portage before opening the office that was destroyed Sunday. Becky Bewick said workers put the finishing touches on a fifth patient room in the suite just hours before the fire.
“We were trying to salvage whatever we could, a few knickknacks here and there, a few photos, dental records and our computer server, which, of course, houses all the workings of the practice,” Keary Bewick said. “Without that (server), we would’ve been probably deep-sixed. At least that’s one giant step forward from what we used to be.”
Becky Bewick praised the work of the firefighters.
“(Firefighters) created an assembly line to pull records out to avoid (medical privacy) violations, so there would be no patient interruption and no fears someone may have about their records,” she said. “We can’t thank them enough. They were just amazing and kind, and putting their lives on the line just to go get small things.”
One firefighter, who also is a patient of Bewick’s, found the doctor’s bagpipes.
Terry Smith, a supervisor and 18-year employee of the Hobart office of Servpro, a national fire and water cleanup and restoration company, pointed to smoke rising from debris and described the damage.
“On a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the worst, this one was a 10,” Smith said. “This looks to me like you need a dump truck and some bulldozers in here. It’s wasted. It’s gone.”
While he thought about finding a temporary spot to run his practice, Keary Bewick said he is willing to return to the spot, if the owner rebuilds.
Jodi Newby started her business, A License To Drive, 20 years ago in Terre Haute and said she’s been at the Portage site since 2003. Newby said she rushed to the business when she learned of the fire Sunday. She stayed until 2 a.m. and returned to the business early Monday, Newby said.
“Its really hard to even wrap my head around it,” she said. “My primary concern is I have a whole crew of kids taking classes, and they paid tuition, and I want to do right by them.”
Newby said she is looking for a temporary space “to make sure (students are) taken care of.”
Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.