Palmer day care fire disrupts familes

PALMER — Ever since the Mouse Trap Playschool day care in Palmer caught fire Feb. 2, Palmer Mayor John Combs said he’s been working with owners and state officials to find a temporary space for the day care’s children.

“I care a lot about the folks that are in this situation and I want it to work out for them,” Combs said.

The fire appears to have started in the furnace area, Palmer’s Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Axtell said. About a quarter of the building was damaged in the fire, with other areas suffering smoke damage. Though not a total loss, he said the damage amounts to nearly $500,000.

“There was extensive damage to the south end of the building, which contained the kitchen and I believe the younger children’s area,” Axtell said.

The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but professional insurance company investigators have been going over the scene, as have state fire marshals, Axtell said.

“It’s a significant loss to the owners,” he said.

To have the day care closed is also a big hit to the community, Combs said. The owners told him, “They actually have a total of 125 kids that get dropped off at different points during the day.”

A representative of the day care’s owners declined to comment.

Combs noted that the center doesn’t need space to hold 125 kids at once as different drop-off and pick-up times mean the center has roughly half that on hand at any one point. Still, that’s a lot of kids to displace, especially considering that most local day cares are full or close to full, he said.

The fire has made it tough on parents who depend on day care service, Combs said. Some have had to take off work to look after their kids since the fire.

“There are a lot of families out there who have two paychecks and both paychecks have to come in,” Combs said. “I just stepped in and told them I was going to do what I could.”

Combs said his efforts, which amount to phone calls and discussions, haven’t cost the city any money. He and the owners are looking at the Salvation Army next to city hall in downtown Palmer, which as recently as a year ago was inspected and certified to hold an after-school program.

“It’s not quite normal, but I think it’s going to serve the purpose well,” Combs said.

He had also asked the Mat-Su Borough Assembly to see if the Borough gym, attached to the main Borough building in Palmer, could be used.

Assistant Borough Manager Marion Romano said the gym may not suit the day care’s needs.

“Our bathrooms, besides not being handicap accessible, are wretched,” she said.

Combs said the day care’s owners had told him the Borough gym probably wouldn’t work, but he was grateful to hear later that the Borough had offered the gym and is willing to do what it could to help.

So far, he said, that’s been the norm. Everyone from insurance adjusters to the state’s day care licensing organization have been willing to step in and do their part to get the Mouse Trap Playschool back in business.

“I’ve had nothing but good cooperation from everyone I’ve talked to,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiers-man.com or 352-2270.