FIRE DESTROYS AKWESASNE TWINLEAF CONVENIENCE STORE

Twin Leaf was a restaurant, gas station and sold cigarettes, but to the community it was much more. Twinleaf quickly became a meeting place; for breakfast, lunch or supper with snacks in-between. You could stop in and order a cup of coffee and end up staying for an entire meal with family or friends. When lunchtime rolled around, workers often found Twinleaf a convenient place to catch a quick lunch and sometimes a short meeting. Many went back to relax with a comforting supper with family later on. On Sunday's tables were pulled together for large families and friends to enjoy a relaxing breakfast. If you were on the go, many took advantage of the free cup of coffee when buying gas or not buying gas and just in a hurry. Customers stopped in for that one special magazine which was only be sold there, or that specialized cold drink, and when the rare occasion felt like it; a baloney sandwich.

On Sunday, May 31, 2015, a fire destroyed Twinleaf Gas and Tobacco Convenience Store and severely damaged Fresh Express Diner. The Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at 1:16 a.m to a reported vehicle fire parked in front of the Twinleaf building. The HAVFD release stated attempts to battle the fire with extinguishers were unsuccessful and a second call from the scene reported that the flames had spread to the building. By the time the fire department arrived, flames were visible at the peak of the roof and part of the ceiling had collapsed.

The HAVFD requested aid from multiple department in the North Country, including Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties, fire crews arrived from Bombay, Fort Covington, Westville, Moira, Massena, Helena, Norfolk, Brasher-Winthrop and Louisville. The Seaway Valley Ambulance and Akwesasne Mohawk Ambulance also responded to the fire scene.

According to Fire Chief Comins the evening's windy conditions and a large amount of combustible materials hampered initial suppression efforts then they put forth an aggressive exterior attack with aerial apparatus from Hogansburg Akwesasne and Massena that stopped the fire from spreading through the entire structure.

Thankfully no one was hurt. The Terrance family issued this release:

"The Terrance family and the Twinleaf family suffered a great loss on May 31, 2015 in the early morning hours. A fire destroyed the Twinleaf Gas & Tobacco Convenience Store and severely damaged the Fresh Express Diner. Thankfully no one was injured during this tragic accident. We thank all of the first responders as well as our amazing staff who pitched in to help where needed. This has been a difficult time for our family and we appreciate the support and outpouring of concern from the community. Twinleaf aims to have a partial gas and diesel operation open again at our Hogansburg location within the next couple of days. We are asking that you show your support by shopping at our sister companies; Jreck Subs, Twinleaf Express and Diner at Ft. Covington, and Smokers Warehouse for all of your needs. Our customers and employees mean so much to us and we will overcome this tragedy with everyone's help and patience. Twinleaf Gas and Tobacco will be revived, rebuilt, and reopened for business."

This fire directly affected at least 32 employers including gas attendants, waitresses, line cooks, chefs, cashiers janitor, and managers. Some employees were transferred to other Twinleaf establishments and some are working in the clean-up.

Twinleaf owner Carey Terrance stated, "I just want to thank everybody for coming to help out. The Fire department and police did a great job and to all the volunteers and families who helped out and are helping us to get through this at this time. We are going to get through this and rebuild this place as quick as we can. I know there is a lot of community support for this place and we just want to get it back open as soon as we can."

According the Matt Rourke, Chief of SRMT Police, they as well as the Hogansburg –Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department, and a team of investigators from the Franklin County Emergency Services office will conduct a "Cause and Origin" fire investigation. This investigation is on going and more information will be released at a later date.

As of press time, Twinleaf currently has all gas pumps open for business and a portion of Smoker's Warehouse has been turned into a convenience store. All are open 24 hours.

HAVFD Press Release

Akwesasne, NY - On May 31, 2015 at approximately 01:16 a.m., the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department (HAVFD) was dispatched to a reported vehicle fire adjacent to Twinleaf Gas & Tobacco at 18 State Route 37 Akwesasne. Attempts to battle the vehicle fire with extinguishers prior to HAVFD arrival were unsuccessful and a second call from the scene reported the flames had spread to the structure. When HAVFD units arrived, flames were visible at the peak of the roof and there was collapse of the ceiling inside the building. A defensive attack was initiated due to the risk of imminent roof collapse.

HAVFD command requested apparatus and manpower from multiple departments in Franklin and St. Lawrence counties to help battle the blaze. St. Lawrence county units established command of the south and west side of the structure and called in additional support for water supply and manpower. Windy conditions and the large amount of combustible materials hampered initial suppression efforts but an aggressive exterior attack with aerial apparatus from HAVFD and Massena stopped the fire from spreading through the entire structure.

HAVFD thanks the following departments: Bombay, Ft. Covington, Westville, Moira, Massena, Helena, Norfolk, Brasher-Winthrop and Louisville as well as Seaway Valley Ambulance and Akwesasne Mohawk Ambulance. We also thank Franklin County Dispatch, Franklin County cars 2, 4, 5, 14 and 16, St. Lawrence county car 10 and St. Lawrence County dispatch.

We wish the Terrance family and Twinleaf a fast recovery from this unfortunate accident. Twinleaf is a big supporter of the community of Akwesasne and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.