The historical Irwin Structure in downtown Columbus after a fire raged through the building late Saturday and early Sunday. The structure housed a number of organizations, consisting of 3 professional photographers’ studios, all of whom are Seymour natives.
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3 professional photographers, all locals of Seymour, are getting the pieces after their studios were damaged in a fire that began Saturday night and burned into Sunday morning in the historical Irwin Building in downtown Columbus.
The structure housed several other services including the Columbus Location Chamber of Commerce, Arnholt and Staggs Law Office, Bailey and Wood Financial Group and TD Marketing.
The photography studios affected were Luminosity Studios owned by Ambrose Schneider, Lauren Kirts Photography and Marinda Fowler Photography.
Schneider said they’re all type of still in shock over what happened and there are great deals of emotions going on.
“We don’t even understand where to begin and it’s something we never believed would never occur,” Schneider said. “We simply feel actually displaced and attempting to make sense of what’s going on.”
She resided in Seymour most of her life and then moved with her family to Columbus about 3 years earlier.
“My studio started downtown in Seymour initially, then 4 years ago we moved it to Columbus in that very same area with Marinda and Lauren,” she stated.
Schneider stated she found out about the fire when she got up around 4:30 a.m. Sunday early morning with her 12-month-old child, Maeve, and saw she had actually missed about 4 calls from Fowler.
“I believed there was just one reason she ‘d call me four times at 4 a.m. in the early morning and that’s if something happened to our studio,” she stated. “I called her back and she told me there was a fire and it was quite bad.”
Schneider had her spouse, Chase Schneider, tend to the child and their boy, Isaiah, then she right away headed downtown to the structure and saw it burning, she said.
“When I arrived I forgot it was winter season and had actually left my coat in your home and was simply standing there where the law enforcement officer was and some individuals began asking me if I was all right,” she stated. “I told them yeah, however this is my structure and so they took me over to talk with the fire marshal who informed me it had been burning given that about midnight and they were still working to put out the fire.”
She said at that point the firefighters were working the best they might so she went home for some time and after that returned in the early morning when it was daylight and saw where the entire back of the structure was gone.
“When it was dark out I might only see the front of the building so I didn’t realize the entire rear end was totally in flames,” Schneider said. “My side of the studio was far away from where the worst of the fire was however the third flooring above me all burned and we’re quite sure the third floor fell into my space.”
She stated based upon the what the fire marshal said it would not be safe for anybody to return into the building to recover anything due to the fact that there was so much water poured into the structure that after it freezes, it’ll continue to get much heavier and they’re pretty sure it will eventually collapse entirely.
“I would never ever risk my own life or anybody else’s since it’s just things and at the end of the day, it’s just material and can be changed,” Schneider stated. “I keep my electronic camera and computer system with me at all times so what’s left is my lighting devices, backdrops and things like that I have actually collected over the last 12 years and a lot of it was handmade and ultimately I’ll find things to change it but some things I’ll never be able to get back.”
She said Fowler had left some of her gear, files and some client orders at her studio since they do items and prints.
“I understand that she’s lost a bit more on that side of things, where I still have the things I have actually currently worked on to deliver to different people so I’m extremely thankful for that,” Schneider said. “This was my fulltime task when I was in Seymour, now I work for a company from house fulltime as a web designer and I do some coding, so my photography is part-time.”
She went on to state they’re searching for other studio spaces now and a couple of private proprietors have actually connected informing them they have some area available.
“There’s an extremely strong professional photographer neighborhood here (Columbus) and in Seymour and North Vernon, too,” Schneider stated. “Everyone has actually been so kind to us and have actually stated we might utilize a few of their space for a couple months till we find someplace else.”
She stated she understands they’ll have a number of months to depend on the neighborhood to get them through what they need to meet and the fire marshal stated it’ll probably be months prior to they find out what took place, which will delay insurance coverage and understanding where they can go and what they can do.
“I have my own studio in the building therefore does Lauren Kirts and Marinda Fowler and we’re all very close and have secrets to each others’ studio,” she stated. “We were specifically there due to the fact that we like having that community and relationship with each other.”
Sarah Wells, a client of Schneider’s and a graphic designer, was thinking about moving into one of the offered areas in the structure.
“Sarah immediately set up a GoFundMe account for all 3 people to assist us in the transitional time between discovering a location and finding someplace to work over the next number of months,” Schneider stated. “You can just put one person’s name on it and it’s set for me to be the beneficiary, but it will be divided in between all 3 of us.”
The GoFundMe can be found online at gofundme.com/f/irwin-building-photographers-fire-support.
“Being downtown and being in a historic building was such an unique place and the structure was just so beautiful, the method it was made and the history of it,” she said. “I do not see how we can ever recreate that; Our neighborhood, place and environment.”
Schneider stated she’s glad the fire took place at night which none or their clients were there.
“If the fire began in the back of the structure it may’ve gotten to an extremely dangerous place before it was even seen,” she stated. “Even the cat was saved that lives downstairs and typically hangs out in the window and there’s a video of a firemen handing her to her owner. The cat’s name is Shimmer and we all like her.”
On Fowler’s Facebook page she wrote: “Buddies. Family. And everybody in between. I am beyond humbled by the profusion of love and grace you’ve shown me, my business, and my household. I have actually gotten many messages, texts, calls, and emails that I actually can not maintain. From Venmos, GoFundMes, and an unique contribution from our Seymour Football family at the awards program tonight, I’m speechless.”
She said there aren’t even words to create a worthy thank you.
“Once again, I can not thank you all enough for the kind words, checking in, and just total support. I am feeling extremely loved today,” Fowler composed.
Kirts stated it’s been a couple of crazy days however she’s hanging in there.
“I had 18 Santa mini sessions arranged for Sunday early morning starting at 9 a.m. so I had my alarm set for 7 a.m.,” Kirts said. “I got my phone and had about 12 messages so I quickly scrolled through those and Ambrose and I talked on the phone and she filled me in.”
She stated she needed to go through all of her orders and call her customers to let them understand they weren’t getting their pictures taken that morning.
“It was pretty stressful and I was still kind of in shock and looking back, I’m thinking what did I even state to them?” Kirts stated. “At that point we didn’t actually understand how bad it was so a lot of my customers thought they ‘d have the ability to return in later, however as they day went on, they were calling the entire block an overall loss.”
Kirts used to have a studio on Second Street in Seymour before she and her hubby moved from Seymour to Columbus about 5 or 6 years ago and moved her studio to State Street in Columbus.
“Then Ambrose and I relocated to the building downtown on Fifth Street about four years ago, which was golden for us” she said. “I shoot a great deal of senior photography and might appear and out of my studio to shoot various locations downtown and it was all strolling range and it’s been great to be part of the downtown neighborhood.”
Kirts stated she does not know Wells, who started the GoFundMe account, however it’s so humbling and so kind of her to do that.
“Individuals contributing money to us literally never ever crossed my mind and after going through all of the feelings yesterday my mind is all over the location,” she said. “I never would’ve anticipated all the generosity provided to us and so much generosity and it just warms your heart and advises you of how blessed you are to be a part of a small town.