Firefighters battle a fire at the Aubuchon Hardware, CED Electric, ADK Solar and MC Construction plaza on Jan. 25 which destroyed all the buildings. Aubuchon owns the complex and a spokesperson for the company says they plan to tear down rebuild on the site of the former buildings with a reopening potentially at this time next year. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — Aubuchon Hardware is planning to rebuild a new home for its two cats, Harry and Lloyd.

The hardware store burned down in a fire that broke out in the early morning hours of Jan. 25 at the Consolidated Electrical Distributors-Twin Electric Supply, MC Construction and ADK Solar building connected to the Aubuchon. The Aubuchon store cats — Harry and Lloyd — were rescued by firefighters and store manager Rich Hough within 10 minutes of them getting on scene.

But the store and neighboring businesses were a loss. The fire shot massive towers of flames into the sky and brought 13 fire departments from three counties to fight it.

On Friday, Justin Bicknell, a regional director for Aubuchon Hardware, said the company’s plan is to demolish the existing structure and build a new store at that site. Aubuchon owns the entire complex. Bicknell said they looked at an alternate location in the area, but that did not work out, so they are building at the site of the former store.

There are plenty of challenges to building quickly, he said, but they hope to reopen the store by “roughly this time in 2024.”

Bicknell said they plan to start demolition of the burned-out building in around a month. He said they still don’t know the official cause of the fire.

Jordan Guerrein, a spokesman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said the fire was classified as “accidental.”

“It was determined the fire began in a utility area and involved a furnace,” Guerrein wrote in an email.

Bicknell said they can’t estimate a construction price yet. He said the company’s insurance has covered the damages of the fire “enough to be able to do what we need to do.” It did not cover for lost sales, but for goods and structure.

“We don’t have any official designs,” he said. “We’re in the early phases.”

Bicknell said there are zoning regulations that have come around since the former building was constructed that they’ll have to adhere to now. He said there will likely be additional tenants in the plaza, as there were before — ADK Solar, MC Construction and CED Electric — but he said the hardware store may be on the left-hand side of the property instead of the right.

He said the store will likely have a different layout and different square footage.

Bicknell said the company offered all employees the choice to move to the Tupper Lake or Lake Placid locations. Most chose Lake Placid because it is closer, he said. Some employees moved to different jobs, which he said he understands.

When the store reopens, he said everyone will be given the chance to reapply for jobs. He anticipates more will find other work before the Saranac Lake location reopens, as well.

“We understand, it’s not an ideal situation for everyone to endure,” Bicknell said.

Harry and Lloyd are currently staying at Aubuchon’s Lake Placid location, he said, with Lake Placid store cats Aura and Ricky.

“We do have cats in that store as well, and we wanted to make sure there was a good relationship between all of our furry employees,” Bicknell said. “Those cats have been great. They’re part of the team.”

He said they’ll be extended the same offer to return as the other store employees.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misspelled Bicknell’s last name. The Enterprise regrets the error.