Community Rallies to Support Roxbury’s Frugal Bookstore After Fire in Building Results in Water Damage to Children’s Corner

Feb 17, 2022

“Water and books, they don’t mix.”

Hundreds of people are rallying behind Boston’s Frugal Bookstore after a fire broke out last week in an apartment above the shop and resulted in water damage to the bookseller’s children’s corner.

Clarrissa Cropper Egerton, co-owner of the bookstore in Roxbury’s Nubian Square, told Boston.com a mattress caught fire in an apartment above the shop overnight early on Feb. 12. Firefighters arrived and put out the blaze, but all the water from dousing the flames trickled down to Frugal, soaking shelves, ruining books, and bringing down ceiling tiles.

The shop’s children’s section and book storage in the basement experienced the most damage, she said.

“Water and books, they don’t mix,” she said. “So a lot of the children’s books, the young reader, and young adult books are damaged. So we have been in the process of just cleaning up.”

Insurance representatives and others have been in and out to assess the damage, but with the help of community leaders, activists, and educators, the store launched a fundraising campaign to help the shop replenish its water-logged stock and recover from the damage.

The GoFundMe page was created on Thursday, and by Friday morning more than 400 individual donations had poured in, totaling more than $26,476 of a $30,000 goal.

Cropper Egerton said the outpouring has been “amazing.” Beyond the financial donations, the shop has also gotten members of the community offering to help with the cleanup.

“It’s just tremendous, it really is tremendous, and we’re really thankful,” she said. “And this will definitely help us get back what we lost and then some, with the shelving and the books, and we can extend our children’s section and our young readers section. So it’s really tremendous, and we truly appreciate all the support that we’ve been getting. And … in less than 24 hours, it’s already at that amount, so it’s wonderful.”

The store is still open as cleanup of the children’s corner, which is blocked off, continues.

“We just want to say thank you again for all of the support, all of the donations and even just spreading the word … We’re just very grateful, just truly grateful for all of the support once again from our community and fellow book lovers and readers alike,” Cropper Egerton said. “We just want to give a big big thanks.”