Vassar St. Fire Victims Can Rebuild Home

The Jubelt family are a step closer to moving back to Wyckoff.

The Vassar Street residents, whose home was largely destroyed by fire in April, have received zoning Board of Adjustment approval on variances needed to build a new home at 415 Vassar St.

The prior home was razed after the early-morning fire, rendered uninhabitable and unsalvageable due to extensive fire, water and smoke damage.

"We lost everything," said Steven Jubelt, whose two young children and wife Ellen were otherwise unharmed in the blaze.

"Upon demolition, we had to remove the foundation," he said. The property currently is an empty lot.

Since the fire, the family has been living in North Haledon but submitted an application to build a nearly identical home at 415 Vassar St.

"We carefully calculated what we had, and we're looking to replace that," Steven Jubelt said.

"It's a very similar layout," board member Carl Fry said. The new home will be almost exactly the size of the razed house, with a similar floor plan.

However, the old home was nonconforming under township zoning code in certain areas, as was the plan for a new home. The application required relief in areas such as lot size, lot depth and front-yard setback, etc.

"It's a big house for that neighborhood," of mostly 2-story homes with modest yards, said member Jim Donkersloot.

"You're maxing it out," said Fry, in reference to the 12,000-square-foot lot.

However, the board was cognizant of the devastation the family had experienced and decided to look favorably on an application that board Chairman Doug Christie said would have likely received greater scrutiny if the family was simply looking to build a home on an empty lot.

"I want to see these people get back," said Christie, a member of the Wyckoff Fire Department, as is Fry.

"This board has always moved expeditiously," to assist homeowners in times of tragedy, he said.

However, the board was concerned with the Jubelts' back-yard neighbor's proximity to the property line and decided to mandate the placement of new greenery to act as a privacy shield, upon member Erik Ruebenacker's suggestion. Member Mark Borst, owner of Borst Landscape & Design, suggested a dozen conifers, each 6 to 7 feet high.

Although Steven Jubelt testified that his family and their neighbors have a close relationship, he had no problem with the placement of conifers. The family was granted approval with a unanimous, 7-0 vote.

Firefighters arrived at the home April 8 to find the rear deck (a deck was not included in the new layout) in flames, fed by an exterior gas line. The blaze quickly extended to the attic and second floor, and its ferocity forced firefighters to retreat to the exterior for safety. Wyckoff and surrounding towns' responders continued to battle the fire and brought it under control in approximately 90 minutes.

Since then, many members of the community have donated their time and efforts toward raising money for the family. Initiatives included a Lincoln School walk-a-thon that raised , a Ramapo High School volleyball tournament and individual collections by Town Hall employees, students and church groups.