Photo by Jacob L. Grant for the Caledonian Record.

The Town of Hardwick suffered another huge loss to fire this week. The Bemis Block on Main Street caught fire on Friday, November 25, 2005 leaving 14 people homeless and destroying four businesses. The three-story building was built in 1905 and damaged by a fire in 1923. It was repaired after that fire. The building is now owned by Northern Communities Management Corporation of St. Johnsbury and was slated for renovations in the summer of 2006.
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In January of 1992 a similar fire on Main Street, not far from the Bemis Block, left nine families homeless and destroyed several businesses in nearby buildings including Merlu's Restaurant, Cox Pharmacy, Jac Howard's real estate office and Hardwick Video. Conditions at both fires were similar with frigid temperatures and winds, making it difficult for the fire fighters to battle the blazes. The buildings were repaired or rebuilt following this fire.

Fortunately there were only minor injuries at either of these devastating fires.