The owners of the businesses destroyed in Sunday's fire are optimistic about the future and are hoping to rebuild as soon as possible.

Jay Warnacut, co-owner of The Butterfly, said that he and his partner, Steve Sahagun, are committed to staying downtown. That was a decision made nearly three years ago when the business was relocated from the northwest corner of Market and Buffalo streets to its site at the southeast corner of Market and Lake streets. "We're still committed," Warnacut said this morning while surveying the destruction.

The building and its contents, as well as two vehicles - a brand-new company van and a car being fitted with stereo equipment as part of a long-term project - are a total loss.

"We've got a big cleanup project ahead of us," Warnacut said. "We've got to start all over ... we're literally back to the basics." He added that there is a "tremendous possibility" that the business will be rebuilt at the same location.

The Butterfly has been a part of downtown Warsaw since 1976, and neighboring businesses have made offers of space until the business is up and running again. "People have been so kind," Warnacut said, adding that he hopes the same offers will be extended to Brian Szalai, owner of Warsaw Tool Supply Inc.

Szalai's 12-year-old business was housed in the 125-year-old building adjacent to The Butterfly and also was destroyed by Sunday's blaze.

"There's nothing else like this in the area, or probably even the county, that specializes totally in tools," Szalai said. "It's the man's toy shop."

Although, Szalai said, hardware stores overlap with what his business provides, he offers a specialty that others in the area do not. His business is a tool supply house that deals mainly with contractors and factory maintenance shops.

"I would have never thought this kind of devastation could have happened in downtown Warsaw," Szalai said. He was able to retrieve some paperwork from his business this morning, but had to go in alone because fire officials felt the building too dangerous to enter. The roof of the two-story structure is on the floor of the upper level.

"I'd like to get it going quickly," said Szalai, who also hopes to rebuild at the same location. "I never like to lose a customer," he said.

Warnacut was full of praise for the firefighters and the efforts made to save the buildings. "We were in the back knocking it down and we thought we had it licked," said Warsaw Fire Chief Ken Shepherd. "But then it went through the roof and that was it."

Despite his loss, Warnacut still felt that the fire departments did an excellent job since neighboring buildings were spared from fire even after strong gusts of wind from a storm moving through helped fan the flames in the burning buildings. [[In-content Ad]]