Two ladder trucks pour water down on the conflagration
A devastating fire consumed an entire block of businesses in the center of Hadley this evening. Witnesses stated it started in the laundromat and spread quickly to Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant and then an entire block of businesses.
The truck was the only thing to survive from Mi Tierra restaurant
The stubborn fire seemed impervious to the pressurized streams of water firefighters poured on it for hours. Fortunately there were no injuries. Morning light would reveal just how thorough was The Beast.
Like a fire breathing dragon
Laundromat: area of building where fire started
Venting flames
The beast refuses to die
Hadley's Ladder truck was soon joined by Northampton's, but still could not bring the beast under control
Hell on earth
Thanks for your reports and photos
ReplyDeleteOne firefighter was transported.
No recent updates at Hamp Scanner or Fireground 360 (last hour) Hope the fire is under control.
Thanks to all those that responded (and are missing tonight's game)
Amazing how the digital technology picks up the heat as red light -- I doubt the human eye could have seen all that infra red but I somehow suspect those guys sure felt it...
ReplyDeleteThat's one of those pictures where you gotta respect the guys standing there...
Masslive appears to say it isn't -- confirms one transport, 60 FF on scene. Gazette has disturbing picture of what they say is utility worker looking for gas shutoff. A building like that it well may have been paved over years ago, and that could be part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteGazette also reporting explosions inside building. Both papers reporting MSP investigating cause, may be routine as Hadley FD may not have resources to do that, not on a fire this scale.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteFrom the pictures it looks like every business in the entire structure was damaged. Is that accurate or did some at the edges or in the front survive? Quite a shame small local businesses just trying to make a living.
Great shots!
ReplyDeleteDid the fire actually start in the laundromat or are you just reporting what some witnesses think?
ReplyDeleteHi, Larry,
ReplyDeleteDo you know where/how I can contact the owners of Mi Tierra? I would like to send them something- five years of patronage does not go quietly. Such a tragic thing to have happened.
Sorry, I don't. But maybe some of my readers do?
ReplyDeleteI was told by fire personnel on scene that it may have started on the rooftop of either the laundromat or miTierra.if it was the laundromat then itwas not an uncommon occurrence as owners are normally very good at collecting quarters but very bad keeping vents cleaned..every business was lostincluding my sons kung fu place.I was also not aware that there were apartments in that facility too as I was told by the fire personnel.there were some explosions during the fire but they sounded to me as if they were simply combustibles in the facilities.that strip mall is quite old and it burned very quickly and hot.I'm saddened for all of the business owners who lost a lot.
ReplyDeleteLook, I know you Amherst-ians love your Cantina... but for me, Mi Tierra was the ONLY place I went for my Mex fix in this area. I will miss these guys and the great margaritas and I really hope they rebuild.
ReplyDeleteSame goes for "Casablanca." It's funny, I was going to stop in there jsut yesterday when driving by to buy a "tajin," the clay pot for cooking.. and I thought, eh.. another time. My mistake!
the red saturation in the photos has nothing to do with infrared.it has to do with the white balance circuitry in the camera and the darkness of the scene.
ReplyDeleteIn is my understanding that every restaurant is required to have a license from the local board of health and hence a polite inquiry to either the Hadley Board of Health and/or the Hadley Selectmen (or even the Town Clerk) would likely get the name & address of the owners of the destroyed restaurants -- particularly under the circumstances and if you told them why you want to know it.
ReplyDeleteDr Idiot rides again!
ReplyDeleteSpouting off about something he knows NOTHING about.
Not a day goes by..................
Anothr update from the Mi Tierra Facebok page
ReplyDeleteJust a little update. I just got off the phone with Jorge and I assure you they are doing fine. They went to the site and there literally is nothing left. He has already been in touch with the insurance companies.. and believe it or not, he has already started laying down plans for coming back. This is not the last you will see of Mi Tierra. As time goes by, we will keep this site updated with our come back.
Special thanks to all the people who have shown such love and support. The people of Hadley, Amherst, Northampton and the Pioneer Valley and beyond have really stood behind Jorge and Dora as they deal with this tragedy. It's always amazing to see a community come together.
Thanks once again and we will be seeing you again before too long!
Hush Walter! Did you ever visit the laundromat when your son was at class?
ReplyDeleteThe laundromat owner was quite involved and present with his business (I initially met him in Hadley- and recently spoke with him as he installed new machines in his Easthampton location.)
He was always working with the machines and an employee would come in to tend to the cleaning The shop was well maintained.
I loved their option of using a credit/ debit card (came in handy when I needed receipts after my house fire)
Apparently Chapter 140 of the General Laws doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteWhile we can all be upset and feel terribly for the restaurant that was destroyed, I'd put my money on a hood fire at Mi Tierra causing this...Restaurants are notoriously behind on getting their semi-annual hood cleanings & inspections and it often leads to terrible kitchen or roof fires
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 10:26
ReplyDeleteThat is a harmful and potentially misleading comment- investigators have already ruled out Mi Tierra as the cause of the fire.
Research before you make blind accusations, thanks.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteRestaurants are notoriously behind on getting their semi-annual hood cleanings & inspections and it often leads to terrible kitchen or roof fires
I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the automated range hood fire suppression systems -- I can't remember how they managed to do it but a bunch of kids working at a honky-tonk take-out place managed to light a Fryolator on fire, which sent flame right up into the rangehood/ductwork, tripping the automated (dry chemical) system which put the whole fire out. They had a mess to clean up and were shut down for the rest of the day, but the system worked.
Now as to restaurants notoriously not being clean, that is another story and I am not going to speculate in any dimension on now-destroyed establishments that I never inspected, I'll add that I have no idea what (if any) system these places had or if it was properly installed and/or maintained (which is important), I'm only saying that these systems appear to be quite effective.
October is "Fire Safety Month" and instead of attacking me personally (which I know is great fun) perhaps some of my critics -- who also are aware of the merits of these systems -- might want to confirm this before we have Suzie Sweatpants thinking that her favorite restaurant is little more than a bolted-down version of the Hindenburg.