Store provides services for low-income families, homeless
By Teresa Sargeant
Reporter
Officials are investigating the cause of a fire that broke out at a nonprofit thrift store that provides services to low-income families and people experiencing homeless in Apopka.
The fire happened on the morning of Wednesday, May 21, at the Good Neighbor Place thrift store, located at 199 S. Park Avenue, Apopka. No one was in the building at the time, and no injuries were reported, the Apopka Fire Department (AFD) reported in an emailed statement.
Good Neighbor Place is a community service effort of the Apopka Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is located on East Votaw Road.
Not only does the thrift store assist low-income families, but it also lends its grounds to the Orlando homeless outreach organization SALT (Service And Love Together) Outreach for monthly mobile services, which includes showers, to those who need them.
The community might be able to help the thrift store get back on its feet by possibly helping to search for a new location, according to Good Neighbor Place director Ingrid Mergenthaler, who has served in this role for four years.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to stay here or not,” she said. “I mean, we are nonprofit, so as far as paying high rent, we can’t afford it. Whatever we make above our expenses is what goes to feed the homeless, clothe them, and to help the low-income families.”
An employee of Landers Recycling drove past Good Neighbor Place at 5:30 a.m., saw the flames shooting out of the roof, and stopped and called the fire department.
The nonprofit staff received a notification about the fire from the alarm system, according to Mergenthaler. She herself received the message at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at the store around 8 a.m.
“By then they were, you know, fully engaged in trying to keep it down,” Mergenthaler said.
The fire department suspected that the fire might have begun from the roof, but they are still looking into that, Mergenthaler said.
As the community seeks answers, volunteers have been cleaning up charred debris from the store and throwing them into a dumpster in the adjacent parking lot.
The store will contact the insurance company to evaluate the fire, Mergenthaler said.
“It’s very sad, because we serve the homeless and the low income here,” she said. “They’re the ones that are really going to be hurting, because they will not get the service we normally give them.”
In an email, community advocate Dr. Phyllis M. Olmstead said the organization does good work.
“They provide wonderful services to the needy and unhoused in our community,” Olmstead wrote. “Wishing the team a quick recovery and improved services.”
Olmstead noted that the thrift store shares its grounds with SALT Outreach once a month, but another nonprofit is considering helping to assist SALT in hosting its mobile services.
The surrounding area was blocked off to traffic for several hours, according to Olmstead.
The AFD responded to the thrift store fire at approximately 5:30 a.m. on May 21.
“Upon arrival, our crews encountered a commercial structure with significant fire involvement,” the AFD statement said. “The fire was quickly contained and extinguished, preventing further damage. The building was unoccupied at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported.”
The State of Florida Fire Marshal’s Office is currently investigating the cause of the fire, but the AFD will continue to keep an eye on the matter and lend help when necessary, the statement said.
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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