620 South East St Fire

The fire came over the scanner just before 2:00 AM. I arrived a few minutes later, and stayed on the scene for only 45 minutes. Partly because I couldn't stay up all night, and partly because my fingers were freezing. After I left the front of the building collapsed. The city building Department was called about the condition of the structure, and the Health Department was called because water was flooding the corner store on the street behind. This same building suffered a fire in December of 2008, and was boarded up. Last night's fire finished the job.

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Update: added a video.

620 South East St Fire from Peter Palombella on Vimeo.

Scott Tower - Anniversary Hill Park

Yesterday I took a walk up to Scott Tower to see how bad the brush fires were the day before. The park and tower haven't improved since I last visited. It looks like the park is being used as a party spot on a routine basis. The road around the tower glitters from the smashed glass of countless beer bottles. The police have been up there in recent months to break up parties. On March 27th, around 10:00 PM, they broke up a large party of underage drinkers. The young revelers had a bonfire going on the second level of the tower.

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What can I say about the sad state of this once wonderful gem that hasn't already been said by many others.