BROWNSTOWN — A team effort helped a Brownstown bank rise from the ashes after a fire.

Local firefighters rushing to the scene of a fire at JCB on June 27, 2021, helped limit the amount of damage sustained to the facility.

Police officers then provided round-the-clock security of the building at 108 W. Commerce St. until the drive-thru was able to reopen about a month later.

The bank’s team members and various vendors also jumped into action to get the banking center up and running again, and customers were understanding and patient during this time.

“We believe we have taken a very unfortunate event and have turned it into something the Brownstown community will be proud of,” said Jeff Nolting, senior vice president and chief banking officer for Seymour-based JCBank, which recently was rebranded with that name. “We invite everyone to stop in and visit the new and improved JCBank Brownstown Banking Center.”

Nolting said the official cause of the fire is unknown, but it’s believed to be electrical in nature. The damage estimate was in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

After the fire, the bank’s four team members assisted other JCBank locations in Seymour and Bedford so there was a familiar face to greet the regular Brownstown customers who visited these other locations to conduct their banking business, Nolting said. The bank opened May 17, 1987.

Five days after the fire, the Brownstown location’s ATM became available for use.

With the Jackson County Fair coming up at the end of July, Nolting said it was their goal to be able to conduct business during fair week.

“With our lobbies closed during COVID-19, customers became accustomed to doing their banking via the drive-thru, so it was important to us to be able to return to that mode of operation,” he said.

The team rose to the challenge, and the drive-thru reopened July 22.

The focus then turned to updating and remodeling the inside of the banking center to give it a more consistent look and feel to the other locations that had been remodeled over the course of the past year or so — West Hill and Washington Street branches in Columbus and Jackson Park branch in Seymour.

“We were able to maximize and utilize the space so that we now have a dedicated waiting area and have also added another office within the same building footprint,” Nolting said. “We also removed the old traditional teller line and replaced it with teller pods and also installed cash recyclers to improve the speed and efficiency of customer teller transactions. Additionally, we installed an automated coin counter in the vestibule.”

On Nov. 15, the Brownstown Banking Center officially reopened.

To celebrate that, JCBank presented donations to local first responders: $1,000 to the Brownstown Police Department and $250 each to the Driftwood, Carr, Hamilton and Brownstown volunteer fire departments and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

“We were more than happy to make monetary donations to the various fire departments and law enforcement agencies as a small token of our appreciation for their efforts and to assist them in continuing their fine work,” Nolting said. “The quick action to an unfortunate event such as this is what makes Jackson County a great place to live, seeing everyone come together when others are in need.”