[Erin524]

I dont think these are arson related tho...it's winter, and I've noticed fire happens a lot in winter.

I was just looking at the local news, and my favorite bagel place here in town is currently a 3 alarm fire.

It's a local business, not a chain. The lady who owns it is so nice, and she's fun to talk to. Plus, she makes a really excellent beef barley soup that I love. (great with bagel chips!) They make the best bagels on this end of Nebraska. They also make really good Israeli donuts. (think this is a name the owner gave to her donuts) they're cake donuts with fruit inside, and the outside has so much powdered sugar on it that it looks like a big tasty snowball. I love them...

I hope she wasnt in the store when it caught fire. (they make the bagels at night while they're closed) I'm really worried that she or one of her employees was in the building. The local news is just starting to report the fire now, so they havent said if anyone was inside. I really hope they're all ok and that the only victims are the poor defenseless bagels.

I'm hungry for a bagel now. Good thing we bought some just before Christmas and froze them. I'll have to ration them.

I just realized...this probably means no hamentashen this year. (fruit filled cookies that they make for Purim)


It's kind of scary...last night, the bowling alley that's about 6 miles from my house burned down...it was a 4alarm fire. There were some fires downtown too.

Tonight we have some really really bad winds. Some gusts up to 50mph. If they have a huge active fire going on at the bagel store, the winds are going to make it so much worse. There's a ton of houses and apartments just above the bagel store too. I hope it doesnt spread to those too.

edited to add:

There goes another Omaha landmark. They reported that the roof has now collapsed. The bagel store is in one side of a short strip mall, and they're now saying the entire building is going to be a total loss. This is really horrible. The owner of the bagel store lost her husband a few years back...now their business is gone. I really hope they rebuild. She's older tho, and I'm betting she's going to end up retiring. Now I'm depressed...not only because of the loss of the bagely goodness, but because a family friend has now lost her business.

[Debbie D]

Hmm..weird that you've had a lot of fires around...sorry to hear of the loss of a great bagel place... hope the woman had good insurance...

[Erin524]

I hope she had good insurance too.

They said on the news there was an employee inside when the fire started, but no mention of if the person got out. Now I'm a bit worried, I talk to the employees some when we go there to eat. I hope they got out. I'm trying to remember who it was that does the bagel making overnight. I just cant remember which employee it is now.

The firefighters were quoted in saying that the fire at the bowling alley last night was the worst fire they'd ever fought, but now they're saying the bagel store is...(bigger fire, colder temperatures.)

Apparently the water in the fire hoses is turning to ice as it comes out of the fire hoses. I'm not sure how fast it's freezing, but it makes me wonder if the fire hoses can get plugged up with ice after a bit. (anyone here know the physics of ice and fire hoses?)

I'm so sad for the owner of the place. She's such a nice person. Yes, I'll miss the bagels, but I think I'll miss seeing the owner more if she doesnt rebuild.

[soxmom]

Im so sorry your city is going thru this. I do hope everyone is okay.

We went thru something similar in my hometown at Christmas. Two
people died. Luckily they found the @$$@% that did this.

I hope they catch the person/persons who did this. I will keep the]
people of your city in my thoughts.

[Dejibo]

be glad you dont live near me. The fire depts STINK! busted equipment, no training, and bad attitudes. Every fire we ever see or hear about burns to the ground.

Fire is a scary thing! one of a lot of folks worst fears. it can wipe you out in a hurry.

[Erin524]

I dont think the two fires that we had so close together (bowling alley and the bagel store) were arson. I think they were just accidents.

The news said that there was an employee in the bagel store last night. They'd just turned on the ovens and some other equipment when the place started to fill with smoke. I'm guessing something either malfunctioned, or there was something flammable near the ovens or near some other heat source.

I dont think they had sprinklers in the store or the other businesses in that strip mall. Might not have been so bad if they'd had sprinklers.

I think the bagel store was old enough that it didnt have the fire supression system on it's ovens that I've seen in the few restaurants I've worked in.

I'm really sad about the Bagel Bin burning down, but it was showing it's age, so hopefully they'll rebuild and get a shiny new building. Hopefully it'll be back up soon...otherwise all of her employees there have now lost their jobs.

They were the ones who supplied all the grocery stores in town with bagels, and they supplied the Krispy Kremes stores with bagels too. No more good bagels anywhere in town until they (hopefully) rebuild. I think at least their delivery trucks survived. They usually park them across the parking lot. They're probably a little icy. They had to close the street because of all the ice that's in the street below the bagel store. Enough that I think this fire is going to affect more than just the places that burned up with it. At least till it gets warm enough to melt the ice.

[braingonebad]

Wow, that's too bad. Was the employee okay? It would be nice if your town could pull together and help these businesses rebuild - what's good for them is good for everyone.

A guy I know on another forum just mentioned that a family member had a house fire. One person died, two were okay. I guess Red Cross was halping out, got them a place to stay. I don't know if RC helps businesses, though.

[Erin524]

The employee must have been ok, because other than the news mentioning that there was an employee in the building when the fire started, they never said anything else about it.

The owner of the bagel store was on the news the other night. She's going to rebuild. I dont know if it's going to be in the same spot, but Omaha will have it's bagels returning soon. (hopefully in time for when she makes the hamentashen for Purim)

The other businesses that were destroyed also said they'd be back too. So I think that's good.

I'm still curious about what started the Bagel Bin fire, and the one the night before at the bowling alley out in Elkhorn. (suburb of Omaha) I hope the fires were accidents.

[Kitty]

We have a house fire in the news here almost every night. People use space heaters and put them too close to drapes or bedding and then leave them on all night. Just trying to stay warm. One poor man even tried to use a propane grill inside his house to stay warm. Apparently his gas had been turned off. People going through tough times with all the job losses and this terrible economy. The thing exploded but luckily everyone got out. He was burned but will survive. I just hate to hear of families going without the basic essentials.

[karousel]

We've had many fires here too. Unfortunately quite a few of them are arson. Homes, vacant homes, McDonald's, Family Dollar. They're happening so often it's horrible.