The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Musician loses all in apartment fire
NEW MILFORD — “A total loss” is how resident Dean Snellback describes last week's fire damage to his Railroad Street apartment.
“I probably have a $45,000 loss,” said Snellback, a local musician who said he estimates losing about $20,000 worth of music equipment in the fire.
“My daughter was with me (the other night), digging through the rubble,” he said. “We tried to see if there was anything that was salvageable.”
The fire, which began around 9 p.m. Sept. 1, took place in a four-apartment building at the intersection of Bank and Railroad street s, Fire Marshal Kevin Reynolds said the morning after the blaze.
“Just about everything was affected from the fire,” Reynolds added on Tuesday.
Snellback wasn't home at the time of the fire.
“I was going through town and I saw that a friend of mine was playing music at another place in town, so I pulled over and went in and was having a beer,” Snellback said. “A half-hour later, there's fire trucks screaming by and somebody came in and said there's a there's a fire right down the road on Railroad Street. I asked him, ‘which building?' and that sounded like mine. I ran down and it was my apartment that was on fire.”
Snellback said the fire started in his music office where he had been working all day.
“I also had my cable modem and router there and printers and I had a couple of ... very, very good power strips with surge protectors,” he said.
Snellback is lead singer and guitarist in the BluesyLand Band. He said his greatest loss is all his musical instruments.
“I probably have $20,000 worth of music gear that I use regularly for my living — guitars and recording equipment, PA systems and amplifiers,” he said.
His daughter created a fundraising page to help her father, which can be accessed by visiting bit.ly/3cTCzrF .
Within three days of its creation, the page raised more than $16,000 from 130 donations.
‘Outpouring of compassion’
Snellback, who was a hearing specialist in Danbury and Southbury, retired to return to music full time.
“Then COVID happened and I lost all my performances. I’m now working full-time as a solo singersongwriter with my band,” Snellback said.
“Anyone who hires me is welcome to let me sing for my supper,” he added.
Snellback, who moved into the apartment in July after living in Newtown for 30 years, was told it will take about three months before he can move back in.
“It’s got to be totally
gutted and restored. And I really like the apartment and I like the landlords and I like the location,” he said. “I hadn’t yet gotten my renter’s insurance, so everything is a loss.”
He became emotional when speaking of the generosity he has received.
“People who are in my age group who now are empty-nesters but they still have their homes — they said, ‘Look, you know, my kids aren’t here. We got room,’ ” said Snellback, who is 69.
Snellback has performed at several venues since the fire and through word of mouth, many musicians have heard what happened and have donated instruments to him.
“I’m part of a large network of musicians and the outpouring of compassion has been profound. That night (of the fire), I played at the White Silo Farm & Winery in Sherman and I had eight to 10 guys show up with guitars and equipment,” he said. “I had a guy show up with a $4,000 guitar. He insisted that I keep it as long as I need it. I used it again last night and it’s the most amazing instrument I’ve ever played.”
On the night of the fire, Snellback said his friends Stacy and Jeff Murphy, who took him in, stood outside his building with him for three hours.
“Then they brought me into their home and (Stacy Murphy) opened up donations in her cafe. People have been bringing clothes and somebody donated a computer and a television,” he said. “Their cafe, (Cafe 1840 in New Milford), has just been spearheading this whole community effort.”
Snellback’s daughter, Leigh Gocklin, who lives in New Jersey, said her father “was just starting to get settled in and get his stuff arranged — and then this happened.”
She said her father’s “entire life” was in that apartment.
“He’s a lifelong of music gear collector, all of our family photos, all his important documents — everything is gone.” Gocklin said.
She said one of the few items that was salvageable was a flag he got from her grandfather’s funeral.
Snellback said he never would have imagined anything like that can happen.
“It felt safe and secure and I never, in a million years, thought about a fire,” he said.
He said he hopes to stay in New Milford.
“The people in New Milford, the outpouring, the community, the town, have just been amazing,” he said. “I’ve just been putting one foot in front of the other, just trying to get through the reality of it.”
On Wednesday, a benefit concert for Snellback will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Housatonic River Brewing, 30 Kent Road in New Milford. Another benefit concert is set for Sept. 25 at Sticks and Stones Farm, 197 Huntingtown Road, Newtown.