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polygon
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The fire
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Jul 25 03:12 UTC 2003 |
I didn't find any other mention of this, so I'll start an item.
Tonight there was a big fire in downtown Ann Arbor. I heard about it from
Janice, who was driving on M-14 about 8pm and saw an immense column of
smoke rising from the downtown area. I went outside, and I could see it
from our house in southwest Ann Arbor.
(Once again, I note the lack of a decent local news web site for the Ann
Arbor area. For some time after I heard about the fire, it was not
possible to determine what exactly was burning.)
Apparently it was the Technology Center, the old industrial complex where
Performance Network and Partners Press used to be, between West Washington
and West Huron, west of the railway embankment. Possibly Illi's service
station was damaged as well.
This evening about 10:30, I came to my office on Thompson Street. The air
downtown is full of smoke.
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| 25 responses total. |
other
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response 1 of 25:
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Jul 25 04:53 UTC 2003 |
Illi's did not look at all affected by the fire. The fire was primarily
in the old Ann Arbor Circuits end of the building, and broke out after
the end nearest Illi's (which included the original home of Performance
Network and the latest home of Ann Arbor Civic Theatre) had already been
completely demolished.
When I arrived on the scene, the main part of the fire seemed to be in
the area by the northeast corner of the courtyard, which is where the
building manager's office was when I worked in the building. The
demolition had progressed about to the part of the building in which
Clancy's Fancy hot sauce was being made, or about the middle of the east
edge of the courtyard.
The fire began around or just after 7pm.
At a quarter to midnight, flames were still visible in a few places.
Theories floating around, some mentioned to me by recent occupants of the
building, suggest that some of the younger people who occupied the north
end of the building in its last days and were rather unceremoniously
expelled may have set the fire as a demonstration of their displeasure at
being ousted. Another theory is that firefighters displeased with the
recent round of layoffs in the AAFD contributed to the blaze.
At least three departments are involved in fighting the fire; Ann Arbor,
Pittsfield and Ypsilanti.
At around 8 or 8:30, I was across Washington from the scene, and heard a
really loud noise which sounded for all the world like the pump in an
AAFD pump truck at the corner of Washington and Third seizing up and
dying a miserable death, but that is pure speculation. The firefighters
around the truck didn't look too happy.
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carson
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response 2 of 25:
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Jul 25 04:57 UTC 2003 |
(an AP wire story on this moved as early as 9:56pm, apparently submitted
by WAAM-AM, but without identifying the location. a 10:37pm story
suggests the smoke could be seen from 30 miles away, and that the fire
might burn for several days.)
(FWIW, I didn't notice any smoke on the horizon while approaching Ann
Arbor from the west about an hour ago, but I wasn't looking, either.)
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other
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response 3 of 25:
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Jul 25 05:34 UTC 2003 |
I first noticed it as a huge column of smoke when I came out of
Nicholson's on Jackson almost at Zeeb.
I was amused by the number of people who mistook me for a firefighter
because I was wearing my (cutoff) BDU shorts and IATSE logo polo shirt.
The IATSE bug looks a bit like the firefighter symbol, and the shirt says
"Ann Arbor, MI" under the bug on the breast pocket.
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gelinas
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response 4 of 25:
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Jul 25 05:57 UTC 2003 |
I should know what Nicholson's sells, but I can't remember.
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mary
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response 5 of 25:
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Jul 25 10:43 UTC 2003 |
Risky adventures.
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mary
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response 6 of 25:
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Jul 25 10:44 UTC 2003 |
;-)
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sabre
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response 7 of 25:
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Jul 25 11:39 UTC 2003 |
It would be cool if all of Ann Arbor burned..heh heh I would like to see the
pretty flame.
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scott
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response 8 of 25:
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Jul 25 12:17 UTC 2003 |
Ah, OK, that brown stuff in the sky makes sense now. I was driving back from
E. Lansing around 9pm or so.
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tod
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response 9 of 25:
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Jul 25 17:03 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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sno
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response 10 of 25:
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Jul 25 17:03 UTC 2003 |
I saw it from Chelsea. WDIV reported sightings from Dearborn.
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tod
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response 11 of 25:
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Jul 25 17:12 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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twenex
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response 12 of 25:
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Jul 25 17:44 UTC 2003 |
Fire in A2? Damn.
It wasn't visible from the UK ;-)
Sabre - what a dumbass thing to say. No doubt we'll soon hear from you about
ho evil all the people are who think the US deserved 9/11. They are (or they
are at least *very* misguided), but that doesn't mean you aren't a shitfaced
little hypocrite.
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sabre
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response 13 of 25:
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Jul 25 18:43 UTC 2003 |
I just want to see the pretty flame<sabre gets all glassy eyed>
Did anybody die?
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jor
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response 14 of 25:
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Jul 25 21:59 UTC 2003 |
According to the AA news, the smoke travelled upwind.
Awesome.
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krj
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response 15 of 25:
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Jul 25 22:40 UTC 2003 |
Steve and I saw the column of smoke as we approached on US 23; it
looked Biblical. I forget how far north of Ann Arbor we were when
we noticed it, but it was a good ways out.
We drove around for a bit to try to locate where
the fire was; then we drove down Miller because I had to reassure
myself that it wasn't our house. Around 7th, Miller became gridlocked
with all the traffic diverted from Huron; a volunteer directing traffic
told us it was the Tech Center on fire.
After I delivered Steve home, I found myself driving through the smoke
plume in the Power Center. I was on my way to see a movie at the
Michigan Theater, and you could smell the smoke faintly in the
auditorium.
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tod
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response 16 of 25:
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Jul 25 22:42 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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bru
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response 17 of 25:
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Jul 25 22:43 UTC 2003 |
I just saw that a large portion of the building had been knocked down
yesterday afternoon. Then I heard that the building was on fire on the 10:00
news. I also heard that teh fire department had decided on containment rather
than putting it out.
lots of blackened structure when I passed by this afternoon.
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cmcgee
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response 18 of 25:
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Jul 25 22:52 UTC 2003 |
Containment certainly makes sense for a building that was about to be
demolished for the new YMCA. Hate to see a fire fighter injured in that
situation.
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rcurl
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response 19 of 25:
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Jul 26 01:50 UTC 2003 |
Re #15: What?! They were burning bibles?
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ea
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response 20 of 25:
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Jul 26 04:52 UTC 2003 |
And the local news websites eventually pick up the story.
Michigan Daily had it on their website before 11pm
MLive had it at 11:15pm
I'm not sure when the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press picked it up,
but it was after 11:15
Why am I not at all surprised that a student paper (despite the lack of
people around campus right now) managed to scoop 3 of the biggest
"newspapers" in the area?
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jaklumen
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response 21 of 25:
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Jul 26 23:04 UTC 2003 |
Who's Sam Drucker and why would something happening in Yakima be
reported in Walla Walla? (this sounds so weird)
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tod
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response 22 of 25:
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Jul 27 18:50 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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jaklumen
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response 23 of 25:
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Jul 27 21:04 UTC 2003 |
Ah, okay. Never heard about it, but I guess that makes sense.
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gelinas
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response 24 of 25:
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Jul 28 03:55 UTC 2003 |
I thought I recognised Mr. Drucker's name, tod. :)
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