CONTROL BURN
WILLOW STREET/CLARKE AVENUE
POCOMOKE CITY, MARYLAND
SATURDAY JANUARY 12, 2013
Earlier in the day.......
Around 4:30 in the afternoon fire equipment began to roll in and the attending fire departments began their preparations for the control burn. There was no wind at all and fog was moving in. It wasn't long before activity began to take place in so many different directions!
Final inspection. This would be the last time the building would ever be entered. The three people I assumed to go in there was a Pocomoke City Fireman, the Mayor of Pocomoke Bruce Morrison (a fireman himself) and Worcester County Fire Marshall.
Three items were found in the building that evening. Some type of trinket, a stuffed animal- that happened to fall in front of the building when tossed AND the "special keepsake" the Mayor found!
According to time in my world it was a little after 5:00 when the fire departments began to wet the surrounding buildings.
Pocomoke City Fireman Larry Fykes with
Pocomoke City Councilman Don Malloy
It was shortly after the wet down- I'd say between 5:30 and 6:00 when the first flames popped through the roof of the structure and what was last known as Lawson's Nightclub would be a memory....
When flames broke through the roof I knew that it wouldn't be long before we would all be warm!!-Or at least I would.
More photos to follow..........
Very good coverage and great photos! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Slim
I know as we age things come and things go but I just can't get over the sadness that I get when a historical structure like that building was must go. I would have loved to go inside and search, the wood in that place was real, it was had cut with blood and sweat... carvings that were unique to the craftsman....
ReplyDeletewhat is that Bruce found?
Thanks so much Slim. I have more to post.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:13- What Bruce found was a picture hanging on the wall, or so it looked to me. The building is/was owned by a local real estate developer and in recent years had begun to degrade to the point that repairs would have been too great. Maybe the owners had forethought about the wood work inside and took advantage of what remained. I don't know. I did ask what it looked like inside and was told that the ceilings in the back upstairs had begun to collapse and you can see the structure beginning to lean towards the back that faces Walnut St. in other photos I have provided. I also believe that the back of the building inside had begun to give way also.
But in this economy how much would it cost to repair it to the point that it once was and what would e done with it after repairs had been completed?