WINGS looking at options for temporary home

The WINGS resale shop in Palatine, which was destroyed by fire during Friday night's storm, could emerge Phoenixlike in a temporary location in downtown Palatine.

Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz said WINGS officials plan to meet with village staff Monday to discuss temporarily moving the location to one of two downtown properties, the former Mia Cucina restaurant building at 56 W. Wilson St., or the former Harris Bank consumer lending building near Smith Street and the railroad tracks.

Meanwhile, Palatine fire Battalion Chief Roy Cipri said the fire department is still trying to determine what caused the fire.

"Some state it was a lightning strike. Another guy said no, it was not a lightning strike. They are trying to determine exactly why the wire came down and the exact source. So the investigation continues at this time," Cipri said Sunday.

Investigators are waiting to review video taken from Harvest Bible Church across the street, he said.

The WINGS property at 756 E. Northwest Highway has been turned back to the owner, and ComEd is working to restore power to residents and businesses in a five-block area in the neighborhood, Cipri added.

WINGS, which stands for Women in Need Growing Stronger, ran the resale shop to raise money for its domestic violence shelters for abused women and their children, as well as their transitional program services.

Considering the hard economic times, the fire "was pretty devastating to an organization that was doing a lot of good," Schwantz said Sunday.

Even if they relocate the resale shop in downtown Palatine, it's unlikely to be permanent. Rebecca Darr, WINGS Program Inc. executive director, said they need a high-traffic location like they had on Northwest Highway.

"(The old location) was visible from (Route) 53, people on the train, but it was also close to other resale stores along Northwest Highway. That actually helps, because people who shop resale hit all of the them," she said. "You don't want to be where people have to come looking for you."

Darr said it could be several months until they find a new, permanent location. The set up will involve more than just opening the doors and sorting through boxes and bags - they'll need to replace the merchandise, fixtures, hangers for the clothing, cash registers and computers, she said.

Darr estimates the store loses $1,500 to $2,000 each day it is closed. She also estimated the loss at $50,000 on such items as fixtures, computers and the cash register. All the nice clothes and housewares and furniture are not covered by insurance, since those items are donated, she said.

The store prided itself on being a clean, well-organized source for quality goods at reasonable prices. Darr said she has attended the Purple Tie Ball wearing a purple gown bought for $20 at the resale shop and earns compliments on her attire.

The building did not have sprinklers, having been grandfathered in to the current fire code when it was purchased 11 years ago. Darr said it would have cost $100,000 to run a water line underneath Northwest Highway and add sprinklers to the building, and besides, sprinklers would not have made a difference with this fire since the fire was above where the sprinklers would have been.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze, she said.

"We deal in an industry where we're always trying to protect people from getting hurt, so it would have been very devastating to have a fire hurt innocent people," she said.

Cash donations are needed, and tax deductible donations can be made at wingsprogram.com. Darr advised people wanting to donate merchandise to wait until they have a temporary location.

Home: Director says store loses nearly $2,000 each day it's closed

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<li><a href="/story/?id=388981">WINGS director talks about reopening after devastating fire <span class="date">[6/20/10]</span></a></li>

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