Jane sends along these pics and reports…

This afternoon, shortly before 3:00, a fire broke out at the Chevron station at North Decatur and Clairmont Roads.  Reports were that a car had driven away with the pump nozzle still in the gas tank.  The hose snapped, and a fire started almost immediately.  It looked like Dekalb County sent every fire truck in the area, along with EMS.  Two City of Decatur trunks responded early, but left as Dekalb County began to arrive in force.  There were no immediate reports of injury.  The fire was extinguished within ten minutes of fire department arrival.  Traffic, of course, was snarled.

I sent a note to the owners of 5th Earl yesterday after someone inquired about the status of rebuilding and reopening the space.

Last night I received a note back from 5th Earl co-owner Brian Bressler informing me that after months of waiting, they had terminated their lease with the landlord of the burned space and would not be reopening there in the future.  To put it modestly, it seems there was a major falling out between parties.

Brian said that he has no immediate plans of reopening elsewhere, as they “are still muddling thru the last portion of our insurance claim, to see where we end up.”

I wish them the best, and am optimistic that one day they can do another great rehab around town and start serving up those great sandwiches again.

With all the recent, heightened concern about crime within the city limits, this 8 week program offered by our police and fire departments seems more apt than ever.

Decatur PD’s Communication’s Director, Juanchella Francis sends along this note giving the details.

The Citizens Public Safety Academy (CPSA) is an exciting way to learn about police work and how the community can respond to emergencies. Through a well-prepared curriculum, taught once a week for 8 weeks, students will learn about all aspects of police operations. Academy participants will meet many of the men and women who serve in the Decatur Police and Fire Departments as they explain the functions of patrol officers, investigators, administrators, and firefighters. Academy participants will also learn how officers are trained and how one can protect against crime and fire hazards. Interesting demonstrations will illustrate the many skills and abilities police officers and fire fighters must have to effectively protect Decatur.

An important and exciting phase of the Academy is the opportunity to leave the classroom and view police work first hand by riding with patrol officers. [editor’s note: There is also a tour of the DeKalb jail.]

Applicants must submit to a limited background investigation by the Decatur Police Department that will include a check of criminal history and driving record. Individuals who do not meet the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council standards will not be accepted into the CPSA program. Read the rest of this entry »

Though we heard as much from one of the 5th Earl owners yesterday in a comment, here’s the message that’s been posted on their website…

To Our Many Loyal Customers and Friends,

As some of you may now know, the restaurant was severely damaged on Tuesday, January 20 by a major fire that started next door at Trackside Tavern and spread into our space. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the fire; however, the damage is extensive.

Due to the condition of the building, 5th Earl Market will be closed for business until further notice.

We have already received many calls and e-mails offering support and encouragement and we wish to extend our thanks for all of these. It is our plan to re-open. We do not know when, but do know that we want nothing more than to keep serving our many wonderful customers.

Thank you.

The 5th Earl Market Team

As for Trackside, which suffered far worse damage, things seem a bit more uncertain at this point.

UPDATE V: One of the 5th Earl owners, David, checks in and promises to come back “stronger and better than before” in the comments section.

UPDATE IV: Ali Laipple has posted a gallery of photos of the damage on her Facebook page.  Click the pic below to view.

h/t: InDecatur

UPDATE III: Paula provides a cell phone pic of the Trackside damage.  Can’t see inside, but windows are shattered and there is definitely a lot of damage…

UPDATE II: According to the Fire Dept, Trackside was destroyed by the fire.  Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne reports…

“The fire department reports that 5th Earl did receive smoke and water damage and additional structural damage because of a shared roof system. Trackside was destroyed. No word on insurance yet or the cause of the fire but we’ll keep you posted and no information about whether there wasmoke damage at Bistro Box or Wiggle. The Decatur community rallied behind our local businesses during similar disasters on Church Street and later at College Avenue and hopefully they will rise to the occassion again.”

See Lyn’s full comment below.

Trackside is a Decatur institution.  I echo Lyn’s hope that we can again pull together to help revive these Decatur businesses.

UPDATE I: Eyewitness reports from residents (in the comments section) seem to indicate that both Trackside and 5th Earl took major hits from this fire.

First on DM…

I’ve gotten two reports this morning thus far about a fire in the Trackside/5th Earl building along College Ave.  Not yet sure which establishments were affected.  Bistro in a Box and Wiggle are also located in that building.

Hope all are safe.

Stay tuned.

The city has a pretty snazzed up job application (which includes the above pic) for a new fire chief up on its website. So if you know any qualified candidates, send ’em along! Pay seems pretty good…though I’m not up-to-date on the average fire chief salary.

What happened to the old chief?

Deadline for submission is Sept. 12th.