National Clothesline

A fire that broke out at Dependable Cleaners in Quincy, MA, last month, burned too hot and too fast for firefighters to save the building, though they did prevent surrounding homes and businesses from being caught in the four-alarm conflagration.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause, though equipment failure is suspected.

The fire began about 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 12 while 20 employees were working . According to Christa Hagearty, president and CEO of Dependable Cleaners, they all escaped serious injury.

“Everybody got out and they were safe,” she said. “One person had minor burns, but he is fine.”

Dependable Cleaners, founded in 1944 by Hagearty’s grandparents, had been at the Quincy Avenue building since the late 1970s. It was the oldest sections of the structure that proved to be susceptible to the spreading flames.

“That was the oldest part of the building and had wood beams and a wood floor,” Hagearty noted. “So, as soon as the fire hit that wood, there was no chance of saving the building at that point.”

The blaze spread quickly, but Hagearty was genuinely impressed with how effectively the fire department responded.

“They were incredibly organized, how they would rotate people in and out, how they would attack the fire,” she said.

Already, Dependable Cleaners plans to rebuild on the same location. For now, the chain has allocated its employees and production work to some of its other 15 facilities in the region.

Fortunately, some of the clothing and computer systems were salvaged, making the transition a little easier. In fact, Dependable received some surprise assistance with the latter department.

“The computers were salvageable enough to do a live transfer so we transferred all of the information onto backups servers or backup computers,” Hagearty said. “Compass was amazing. They actually flew somebody from the California [Fabricare 2012] show overnight on Saturday so they arrived on Sunday and they worked with us. By Monday morning our point-of-sale system was back up and running.”

In addition to the many offers of support that have poured in from the drycleaning industry, Dependable has also been able to lean heavily on its employees during their ongoing recovery.

“All of our employees have been absolutely incredible,” Hagearty said. “We’ve now gone from operating six days a week to seven days and we’re doing double shifts with the first shift starting at 4 a.m. I’m so incredibly thankful for the whole team and how flexible and supportive they’ve been.”

Customers have also rallied behind the 68-year-old business.

“I’ve been humbled by many of our customers. I would say 95 percent of the customers have been absolutely incredible and very patient and really good about the whole process,” Hagearty said, adding: “One recommendation is for everybody to take a look at their insurance and make sure for your bailees that you have replacement coverage. We do and that makes the process much, much easier.”

Unfortunately, other things are not so easy to deal with, such as losing a building that Hagearty literally grew up around.

“We had a lot of historical documents and things from my grandparents and uncle that were in the attic area that were destroyed,” she said. “A building can be replaced. Clothing can be replaced. But those momentos and historical documents are a little harder to lose.”