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October 19, 2009 Fire PTM
Started by
hahn23
, Oct 20 2010 12:23 PM
3 replies to this topic
#1
hahn23
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Posted 20 October 2010 - 12:23 PM
One year ago, yesterday, there was a fire which knocked out the retail stores of the Park Theater Mall with surgical precision. While the area has had hazmat cleanup, now it remains empty space. Just to be clear, the ATF team investigated and determined the fire to be "accidental". So, I guess there's nothing more to say, other than the economic activity, which was erased by the fire, has not been replaced. That's all I have to say about that.
#2
DrCloud
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Posted 20 October 2010 - 12:40 PM
We happened to be in town that week, and it was remarkable how the whole community was (at first) so traumatized and, then, pulled together so strongly. Today's EP Trail-Gazette has a long article about the fire and what people are trying to do going forward. HPH
#3
dianeh85
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Posted 20 October 2010 - 05:09 PM
That area is so packed and closely knit together. Seems it could have been much more destructive.
#4
DrCloud
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Posted 20 October 2010 - 07:32 PM
^ You're right.
As I recall, there was considerable worry on the day of the fire that it would spread, and the firefighting efforts were truly Herculean (given the size of the town and all) to make sure it didn't. There were winds that added to the worry. (Hell, I was worried about the bookstore. Fortunately, it came through OK.)
Our house is on the south side of Prospect Mountain -- over by Mary's Lake -- and we didn't have an inkling of this thing. I actually called the fire department that morning to see if the Chief could come by to lock up the KnoxBox (I think it's called -- it's a keyed box that contains a house key so that if the owner is gone the fire department can get in) I wanted to install. The Chief's admin ass't was, like, "Um, well, he's a little busy today and probably will be all day...", so I said that, yeah, firefighting obviously comes first and I'd call back another day. I had no idea that the reason he was busy was this thing.
Then a bit later, we tried to go downtown for something and found out what was happening. Up at the Safeway, the smoke was obnoxious and people were in tears (and not just because of the smoke). It took about 36 hours to get the thing completely down, if I recall correctly.
Richard obviously has a better perspective on this than I do -- my view is more of a snapshot than a history -- and it's clear that there are complex nuances to the whole thing. But at the time it was happening, it was traumatic for the town. HPH
As I recall, there was considerable worry on the day of the fire that it would spread, and the firefighting efforts were truly Herculean (given the size of the town and all) to make sure it didn't. There were winds that added to the worry. (Hell, I was worried about the bookstore. Fortunately, it came through OK.)
Our house is on the south side of Prospect Mountain -- over by Mary's Lake -- and we didn't have an inkling of this thing. I actually called the fire department that morning to see if the Chief could come by to lock up the KnoxBox (I think it's called -- it's a keyed box that contains a house key so that if the owner is gone the fire department can get in) I wanted to install. The Chief's admin ass't was, like, "Um, well, he's a little busy today and probably will be all day...", so I said that, yeah, firefighting obviously comes first and I'd call back another day. I had no idea that the reason he was busy was this thing.
Then a bit later, we tried to go downtown for something and found out what was happening. Up at the Safeway, the smoke was obnoxious and people were in tears (and not just because of the smoke). It took about 36 hours to get the thing completely down, if I recall correctly.
Richard obviously has a better perspective on this than I do -- my view is more of a snapshot than a history -- and it's clear that there are complex nuances to the whole thing. But at the time it was happening, it was traumatic for the town. HPH
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