‘I was just worried about our brides’
Fire reported at Westport bridal shop
WESTPORT — A local bridal shop that has been a staple in Westport for more than 50 years suffered significant smoke damage Saturday morning, according to the Westport Fire Department.
The Westport Fire Department was dispatched to the Plumed Serpent Bridal shop on the 200 block of Post Road East just after 6 a.m for a commercial fire alarm. Once there, the department’s shift commander reported smoke in one of the stores, the fire department said.
After hearing about the fire, Alison Luciano, who has owned the store for 21 years, drove straight to the shop “thinking the worst.” She was worried about her clients’ gowns, which were, luckily, not damaged.
“With wedding gowns, I’m not just selling a dress. I’m selling an experience, a moment and emotions,” she said. “I was just worried about our brides, our dresses and people’s weddings.”
“Luckily all the brides’ dresses were in a different part of the store,” she added.
Firefighters stretched a large hand line to quickly extinguish the flames. The Westport Fire Department was assisted by the Wilton, Norwalk and Fairfield fire departments, fire officials said.
However, the store’s inventory, viewing areas and the front of the store suffered tremendous smoke damage. The smoke damage even filtered through the vents to other offices in the building, Luciano said.
The Westport Fire Marshal’s office said the fire was accidental. Assistant Chief Philip Hessberger said there were unattended candles, but that has not yet been determined to be the cause, he said.
No injuries were reported, the department said.
Luciano is just grateful that her customers were unaffected and can still wear their dream dresses.
“As horrible as this whole experience was, that made me feel so much better that none of our clients will be impacted,” she said.
Luciano has received numerous messages from current, former and future brides, as well as other bridal shops, offering their support and help.
“It’s overwhelming and heartwarming,” she said.
And even though the store is damaged and will be closed for a bit, Luciano is looking at the silver lining.
“We can rebuild bigger, stronger and better,” she said, adding that she and her staff will get on their hands and knees and scrub the place clean to make it more beautiful than before.
“We’ll fix everything up and be back in business,” she promised. And “the next 20 years will be better than the last.”