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OVID, NY (607NewsNow) — Seven days since a fire brought down buildings and businesses in downtown Ovid, a former resident remembers another challenging time for the small town in Seneca County.
Cierra Bell grew up in Interlaken and went to school in Ovid from kindergarten through high school. When she first heard about the fire, it brought back painful memories.
“Wow, I remember this,” Bell recently recalled to 607NewsNow.com. “Ovid had been hit by a fire 11 years ago that took out a couple businesses. It was a pretty familiar feeling, which was unfortunate.”
“I remember the devastation,” Bell continued. ” I had friends that worked in the businesses that burned down; I knew people who lived above in the apartments. People’s livelihoods were wiped away. It was the biggest shock to the town at the time, and now that shock has come back.”
On March 18, 2014, the Ovid Fire Department rushed to Main Street to battle a fire at the New Dragon Chinese Restaurant. Over 200 firefighters soon joined in. Long after nightfall, the fire was out–and soon the cleanup and rebuilding would begin. Fast forward to Jan. 21, 2025, Bell says the pain now and the pain then are very real.
“Like most of the town, everyone is heartbroken,” Bell said. “It’s too much of a familiar feeling. The community has to band together and in a small town, you lean on your neighbors. The bonds that you’re creating with your neighbors are lifelong.”
The fires are out, and Bell is confident that Ovid will flourish once again.
“Ovid will rebuild. Not just the buildings but the sense of hope between the people. Hope will always find a way, and that’ll get rebuilt. It may take time, but it will [be rebuilt].”
Seneca County Sheriff Timothy Thompson announced last week that a portable power charger likely caused the fire, which destroyed six businesses — including Ovid’s lone grocery store — and left several people in 11 apartments displaced.
Cierra Bell works at the Cayuga Media Group. She now lives in Dryden with her husband and daughter.