Pictured: New Opportunities staff and volunteers transfer goods from the agency’s food pantry to another location following Monday’s fire.
Officials are crediting New Opportunities and Carroll County Head Start staff for getting everyone out safely during a structure fire at their facility Monday morning. The Carroll Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 23751 U.S. Highway 30 at approximately 11:20 a.m. for a reported fire in the building’s kitchen. Fire Chief, Greg Schreck, says damage to the building was severe, but it was contained to the interior.
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According to Schreck, firefighters were on scene for approximately 90 minutes clearing smoke and checking for hot spots. Approximately 20 people, including children and staff, were in the building when the fire started. New Opportunities CFO, Sherry Mertz, and New Opportunities Board Member, Gene Meiners, say the staff’s response helped avoid a worse outcome.
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Mertz adds they have moved the programs in the Family Development Center to their main office, and they are still offering their normal services, just in a different location. However, Carroll County Head Start classes are cancelled for tomorrow (Tuesday).
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She is hoping they will have Head Start up and running again by Wednesday. The New Opportunities Food Pantry, which was also based in the Family Development Center/Head Start building, is still operational but had to be relocated to a different site. For more information about New Opportunities services and how they will be managed in the short-term, call 712-792-9266.