Soderbeck /Hand in Hand Restoration Fire

[YellowBird]

What a HORRIBLE loss, Ken is an amazing craftsman and his shop created some of the most beautiful vintage fire and steam apparatus restorations imaginable.


Antique fire equipment, building destroyed in early morning blaze


A charred floor collapsed on horse-drawn hose reels and century-old fire equipment. Antique lanterns were black from smoke and flames, which disintegrated old fire helmets, and burned written records and photographic negatives of fire trucks from generations ago. “It’s my worst nightmare,” said Ken Soderbeck, who owns Hand in Hand Restoration and is one of only a few people in the country who restore and decorate antique fire apparatus.

A fire that began early Wednesday wrecked the building where he did his work and damaged much of the contents — decades-old collections of firefighting tools and equipment. “It won’t sink in for a while how much stuff I did lose, irreplaceable stuff,” Soderbeck said as he sat in a vehicle outside his business. His hands were black from rifling through the wreckage.

“Lost a lot of fire history in this building,” Summit Township Fire Capt. Brian Ledford said. Ledford said the building is destroyed, but some of the contents can be salvaged. He estimated the structure was worth $150,000 to $200,000, but would not venture to estimate the value of the contents. “It is really priceless,” said Capt. Doug Evert, who has known Soderbeck, a former township volunteer firefighter, for about 30 years. He called him “an artist.” “It just brings tears to your eyes when you see the work he does and then this has to happen.”

The cause of the fire is undetermined, said Michigan State Police Trooper John Richards, who is trained in fire investigation. It is not considered suspicious, Richards said. There were no signs of dubious activity or forced entry. He said the state police do not have the equipment to safely dig through the rubble, which would be necessary to determine the cause. If Soderbeck had insurance, the company may pay for it, but Soderbeck said he did not have insurance.

“I haven’t had the full reaction yet. I am waiting,” Soderbeck said. “You just don’t think it will ever happen.” Both he and emergency personnel were notified of the fire by an alarm system. A Jackson County sheriff’s deputy first arrived about 2 a.m. The deputy and firefighters found a lot of smoke. Firefighters tried to enter the building from the back, but a ceiling collapsed and they had to fight flames from outside, Ledford said.

Richards said the fire started in the area of a wall between Soderbeck’s first-floor upholstery room where he had industrial sewing machines, and a darkroom for developing photographs. Late Wednesday morning, there was a hole in the roof above the apparent ignition point, and the floor in the upholstery room completely collapsed into the basement below.

In the basement, Soderbeck said there were four horse-drawn fire rigs people had hired him to restore. All of them date to the late 1800s or early 1900s. He thought they may be OK. Friends from around the country were coming to help him get them and other items out of the building, which he bought in 1968. It was originally a schoolhouse, and through the years, he added segments to it.

Soderbeck lived there until the 1980s, when his first wife died. He said it is unlikely he will rebuild. “I don’t know,” he said Wednesday. Ledford said if not for the valuables inside the building, firefighters may have been forced to have it immediately demolished. As he spoke, Soderbeck and his wife, Agnes, were pulling items from front rooms of the building, where the floors were covered with black water. They were loading goods into a pickup truck.

There is a lot of work to be done, Agnes Soderbeck said. “Its hard to determine where to start.” Ken Soderbeck seemed uncertain what he would do. Wednesday morning, someone offered him the use of empty warehouse space. Some things could be taken to Soderbeck’s farm in Leoni Township, and a large shed or garage behind the business was undamaged by the fire. “He could start again because, after all, he’s the heart and soul of the whole thing,” Agnes Soderbeck said.

[F&J]

Sorry to see things like that. The building is not completely gone, so they did a good job trying to save it.

Hope he can restart his life again.

[msmazcol]

I had the honor of meeting Ken one time several years back when I began looking for parts needed on the restoration of my Willys fire engine. His shop and some of the contents were amazing. The detailed gold leaf work their specialty is without description. The shop was not a new modern facility rather a shop of a well seasoned veteran.
We are very sorry to hear of the material loss. As with any fire loss there will be contents that simply cannot be replaced.
The most important thing is that Ken and his back up crew were OK. Ken was the back bone of the operation and we hope that with time, after the shock wears off, he will continue doing what he did so well.
The talents of Ken Soderbeck won't let a fire stop him.

[Marty Roth]

I had the pleasure of talking with Ken some years ago while maintaining a Boardman-built Pumper built on a 1951 Ford F-6 Chassis for the Monsanto Chemical plant in Luling (St. Charles Parish), Louisiana. I owned the truck from 1988 - 1998. I was seeking advice on Gold-Leaf and pin-striping, as well as period-correct accessories. Ken's comments and obvious vast knowledge, as well as his mentoring eased my process.

That Ken and Agnes are safe is, of course, most important.

I wish them well, and know that the hobby and its hobbiests will support their efforts.

[YellowBird]

I had the honor of meeting Ken one time several years back when I began looking for parts needed on the restoration of my Willys fire engine. His shop and some of the contents were amazing. The detailed gold leaf work their specialty is without description. The shop was not a new modern facility rather a shop of a well seasoned veteran.
We are very sorry to hear of the material loss. As with any fire loss there will be contents that simply cannot be replaced.
The most important thing is that Ken and his back up crew were OK. Ken was the back bone of the operation and we hope that with time, after the shock wears off, he will continue doing what he did so well.
The talents of Ken Soderbeck won't let a fire stop him.

Yes, you have obviously met Ken and seen his work.

Ken's comments and obvious vast knowledge, as well as his mentoring eased my process.

That Ken and Agnes are safe is, of course, most important.

I wish them well, and know that the hobby and its hobbiests will support their efforts.

Again, so very true.

As for friends and other club members, I understand that there was a contingent of them at the shop the following day seeing what could be recovered.

The big annual fire swap meet in Jackson is next week, surely this will be a topic of conversation. Hopefully the rigs in the lower level were not destroyed.

[Dandy Dave]

Sorry to hear of the loss of a great little place. At least no one was injured or killed in the fire. Life as it may be, goes on. Dandy Dave!

[Larry Schramm]

My good friend from high school had one of his pieces of fire apparatus restored by Ken and it was very well done.

[YellowBird]

There's a Spaghetti Dinner scheduled for this Friday, April 23 from 3pm to 11pm at Ted's Firehouse Pub to help Ken Soderbeck get back on his feet.

Ken's been very instrumental and supportative of the vintage fire apparatus collectors over the years, now its time for us to stand behind him. Everyone is invited!

Ted's Firehouse Pub
517-782-8303
809 Greenwood Ave
Jackson MI 49203