SOUTH PORTLAND – Sarah Cummings, now a senior at Cape Elizabeth High School, was devastated when Red’s Dairy Freeze was destroyed by an electrical fire last May.

So when the 59-year-old South Portland ice cream stand reopened Friday, Cummings was there along with fellow students Emily Taintor and Lindsay Rand, taking advantage of a free class period to get one of the first scoops from the rebuilt landmark.

“I have been planning my order for a year now,” said Cummings, who ordered a small half-and-half ice cream in a dish with rainbow sprinkles. “I just had to come.”

Stories like Cummings’ were told frequently Friday as Red’s opened for the first time since the fire gutted the building early in the morning of Sunday, May 16. Fittingly, firefighters who helped extinguish the blaze were the guests of honor, and the first in line.

“The minute I heard there was a fire at Red’s I couldn’t believe it,” said David Chandler, the South Portland dispatcher who took the initial 911 calls from passers-by who complained about smoke in the area. “I have lived in South Portland my entire life and couldn’t believe it.”

Chandler, who lives by Southern Maine Community College and frequently stops by Red’s, said he appreciated the way the reopening was handled with emergency responders getting the first ice creams from the reopened Red’s.

“It was very good that they took the time and effort to make sure that the people who took care of the fire were the first in line. It shows the gratitude they have for public safety workers,” Chandler said.

South Portland fire Chief Kevin Guimond said when responders got to Red’s there was little doubt that they had a serious fire on their hands.

“The first crew that got there kicked down the back door and they were met with intense heat,” said Guimond. “We did what we could do, but there was damage done when we got there.”

Tim Coyne, a 25-year veteran of the force who drove the first engine to the scene, said he was surprised at what he found when he got there.

“We get a lot of calls for smoke coming from a building. I didn’t really expect to see an actual fire. We get calls all the time and very rarely do we get an actual fire,” he said.

Coyne said the door was difficult to force open at first. Once inside, he said, the extent of the damage was clear.

“Most of the fire was up overhead and the heat from it had cracked the windows. There was a lot of plastic melting,” Coyne said.

Coyne said because he lives three houses down from Red’s, it was a frequent stop from him and his two daughters, now 23 and 21.

“My girls have been coming here their entire lives,” he said. “They grew up right down the street.”

Guimond, who has lived in South Portland his entire life, said he comes down to Red’s a couple times of week in the summer months and has come to think of Red’s as a staple in the community.

“It’s an institution,” he said. “People come from all over the place to eat at Red’s. It is a tradition.”

That tradition was interrupted for many last year when Red’s was shut down for the summer.

“When we heard the news Red’s had a fire and was closing, we all were very upset-my whole family,” said Gray resident Fay Conlogue Gallant, who grew up and raised her five children in South Portland’s Willard Square neighborhood. “Red’s is an institution. Generations of my family have been brought up with Red’s.”

Now that the business has reopened, yet another generation – the fourth – will taste Red’s for the first time when Gallant brings her great-grandson this summer.

When Red’s was closed, there was a void for Gallant, who works in South Portland.

“It was missed,” she said. “It was terribly missed. This is like family to me. It is part of our community. Today communities and families are broken up. To me Red’s exemplifies community and brings everyone together.”

Plus, said Gallant, it is always a good sign when you can get your first taste of Red’s for the year.

“We always feel when Red’s opens,” she said, “we have survived winter.”

South Portland Firefighters John Sheetz, left, and Jeff Rogers were among the first customers to get ice cream at the newly reconstructed Red’s Dairy Freeze on Cottage Road in South Portland during the business’ reopening on March 4. (Staff photos by Michael Kelley)Lindsay Rand, Emily Taintor and Sarah Cummings, Cape Elizabeth High School seniors, from left, used a free period to take in Red’s reopening. “I have been planning my order for a year now,” said Cummings, who ordered a small half-and-half ice cream in a dish with rainbow sprinkles. “I just had to come.”