Under investigation
Fire scorches Pine Street apartment
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

PHOTO BY ROB PRICE Pictured above, the rear second story wall of 15 Pine Street was destroyed by fire last week. The adjacent house sustained heat damage but remains habitable.

BATH - A late night fire last week forced the relocation of a Pine Street business and severely damaged the second floor of the building that housed the business on its ground floor. There were no injuries, and the blaze is under investigation, according to the Steuben County Office of Emergency Services.

Bath volunteer firefighters were dispatched to 15 Pine St. at 11:38 p.m. Monday where village police had reported flames burning through the second-story roof. A residential apartment occupied the second floor; however, it was unoccupied when firefighters arrived.

The building is owned by Bath resident Traci Polmanteer, who also owns the ground floor business, Hair Styling by Traci. Polmanteer said she was called to the scene at about 11:45 p.m. "There was a lot of smoke, a lot of breaking windows and a lot of stuff flying out," she told The Courier.

The heat was so intense a neighboring house at 17 Pine Street sustained heat damage along an exterior wall facing Polmanteer's building. Firefighters, however, were able to prevent further damage, and the house remains habitable, according to Paul Ritter of Bath, who owns 17 Pine St. with his wife, Katherine.

Extended members of the Ritter family occupy the house.

Polmanteer thanked firefighters for throwing tarps over furniture on the first floor, saving most of her business equipment from fire, water and smoke damage. She and two employees have relocated the salon to 5 Cruger Street and plan to reopen Tuesday. The phone number of the business remains the same.

The future of the 17 Pine St. building is unknown. Village Codes Officer Ralph Senese could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Polmanteer, however, noted most of the exterior walls are constructed of concrete blocks and appear to have resisted the fire. The rear of the apartment was not constructed of concrete, and the fire burned through that wall, leaving a scene of charred wooded posts and beams.

Polmanteer identified the second-floor tenant as Richard Kramarz. She said he had been in the process of moving from the apartment.

Bath firefighters were assisted at the scene by firefighters from the Bath VA, Savona, Kanona and Hammondsport. A Bath ambulance crew also responded. All Bath units were back in service by 6:13 a.m., according to Chief Ron Delio.