Hot Time at the Ol' Club Tonight (aka fire next door)

Wow Chris, I heard about it a little earlier. Seeing the video footage is so sad .

Where did the fire start, in the club next door??

Alex

The stripper was so hot it caught fire

Not sure but it may have started in a dumpster behind one of the buildings.  There was a fire in a couple of the  buildings a couple of months ago.  There were workmen in a building next door to the one that burned first.  Two buildings burned the first time and 4 more this time.  The wind was so bad it started 3 more fires in the area including a very large column of smoke we could see 2 blocks away.  If the wind had been coming from the other direction there is no doubt the building we are in would have burned.  

Here's another view. At one point the windows of our building got too hot to touch for long.  

WOW!!! I would have been packin up the trains and movin them as fast as I could.

You guys got very lucky.

Rick

Wow Chris that's scary. So Close. Hope everyone made it out safely.

Mike R

Chris,

What club is this?  Where is it.  I see the link to the NJ Hi-Railers.  Is this the club near the fire?

Joe

First heard about the fire from the tv news. When it was announced that the fire was in Patterson at River St and 6th Av. my first thought was the club is on the next block on 6th Av. Hope all is well at the club having seen the videos from the club's windows. Sure was a close call. Always looking forward to my next visit.

Glad you guys are alright. Hope no one got hurt.

We had a great visit with the Hi-Railers, hope to make it back for another when we get a chance.

Nick H

WOw, glad you guys and the building the club is in are ok.

On a separate note, please say a short prayer for the families of the two Boston Firefighters who lost their life yesterday fighting a huge blaze in near hurricane force winds. Very sad indeed.

Paul

Everything is OK.  Club now has that wonderful wet burned wood smell.  When I got home last night my wife said I smelled of smoke.   Just like the old days with the Boy Scouts.  

The most interesting part was when our ex-fire captain started packing up his trains.  That made us a little nervous.  But we got lucky with the wind.  If it had been blowing the other way we might be filing insurance claims today.  As it was, this fire sparked three other nearby fires, one of which looked pretty big by the size of the column of smoke. 

Yup.  NJ Hi-Railers.  We're in a 130 year old factory building right across an alley from the fire.  Building is made of masonry but with a wood roof.  

The ones I like the best.  Oh wait...that's all of them!

Glad to hear the club is OK.

Sorry to see folks losing homes. That is an impact that is normally not fully recoverable.

You lose Documents, pictures and heirlooms that cannot be replaced.

Even a fire safe will not save paper products in a fire like that.

What to save?

Grab the engines starting with big steamers and working down.

Then grab Command systems, operating cars and accessories.

ordinary rolling stock last.

But if it's an evacuation, you probably wont make it all the way down the list.

That was a seriously close call for you!  It is a shame about all the folks that probably lost everything in that fire.

I guess I should get back up there for a visit before the place burns down!

Holy smokes!

.....

Dennis

If the NJ Hi-Railers want to do a new fire scene for the layout, you got some great prototypical examples to use.

Glad the wind was in your favor and no one got hurt. Our fireman brothers to the south of us were not so fortunate yesterday when they lost a couple of good guys with a similar large fire.

That is total destruction!  That was what we call in the trade as a close call!

The fire took out the internet in the neighborhood. Our web cams are down. Don't know when the cable will be repaired.

Jim D.

the aftermath

Jim/John,

Looks like an opportunity for us to get together and open a "business".  The neighborhood lost a valuable establishment (not that I would know about such things!)

I think the B man has plans to extend the building eastward. more layout room

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's just make sure to build it 7 feet high.  My knees will thank us  <G>.

Think of it this way potential extra overflow parking/tailgate at next open house.  BONUS!!  we got it at fire sale back taxes price. Let the BRATS be grilled!!!!
After taking your hobo ride, and looking at your site THANK WHOMEVER you are still there. Absolutely awesome layout!!! Wished I lived on the east coast.

Looks like the web cams at the club are back up. One cam is out of focus and has to be reset. .

Jim D.

Hope nobody was hurt. Glad to see no trains were harmed in the filming of this video as well.

the heavy equipment was there, never saw this side of our building before. see how close the fire was

YIKES!!

GLAD ALL THE NJ HIRAILERS ARE OK.

STEVE

at the closest point the fire was less then 10' from our building

what floor are the NJHR on?

3rd Floor

I think it was the biggest fire I ever saw. 5 buildings, intense heat on the windows inside the club.

 John, I watched your other video too. Probably shouldn't comment about it here and now.

 When I was very small, I awoke to my bedroom all lit up. I was very young. I started screaming and my father yelled shut up. So I started just saying fire, fire. He got up to come in my room and said something like wholly sh...... FIRE!!!

 The garage across the alley from my bedroom was on fire and I could feel the heat. I thought it was our house at first. If the winds shifted, we'd both have a different story to tell.

Here is the view from one of the web cams out the window.  Just a pile of debris now.  News says 60 people are displaced.

John:

Did you experience and water seeping into your building? Being so close to the burning structure, there had to be a lot of water being played on your building.

Glad that you guys are alright. I do pity the bad luck on those who are displaced.    Nobody perished I hope?