Pre-fire shot of the building.
Fire Damage to the upper floors was not visible through windows, though I'm sure there will be significant damage to the floor of the 2nd floor unit because the ceiling of the store appeared to be destroyed. The fire started around 4am when no one was in the building. The shop was completely destroyed. The fire burned appears to have burned most intensely near the east facing window with signifigant damage also visible on the southern wall. The cause of the fire is not yet known. No one was was harmed in the fire. A crew is working on boarding up the windows and plans to move into the basement with flashlights to look at the electrical situation. The store's owner, who is also the owner of the building, said he was insured, but he had lost many personal items in the fire. He has worked at the store for decades and he used to display some photos there, including a shot of President Clinton visiting Union Station, and an old (circa 1910) photo of a previous store located in the same space. The owner, Walter, had just finished a renovation of the building earlier this year. The Black Super Market is located at the corner of 13th & Florida.
A pre-fire shot of the window where the fire burned most intensely.
1 comment:
I heard it last night. Luckily for any residents of the building, they had a wicked loud alarm. It woke me up, although I thought that it was somebody's car alarm. When it shut off, I heard what sounded like voices shouting and something being smashed. This was shortly before the sirens, After that there tons of firetrucks there.
I feel bad for the owner. He's been there for ages and he had a lot of memorabilia from over the years. I remember the picture of the store from 1910 although it looked like a photocopy. I'm hoping somebody still has the original.
Some of the second story windows were blown out from the fire. and the lower ones were destroyed. I wonder when he will be able to reopen and what will reopen.
I always respected the fact that the owner didn't have safety glass in his store and that he didn't sell alcohol.
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