Downtown Shelby Is On Fire.... Literally!

[Dave]

I arrived home tonight to see flames erupting from the top of some local businesses. Apparently not to long before I arrived home a fire had started in one of at least 4 involved businesses that included a bar, laundromat, mexican eatery and a pizza place. The fire department hadn't arrived yet but was there within a few minutes. I grabbed my camera and took some photos that are posted below. The nearest I got was just about kitty corner from where the fire was happening, didn't have any problem feeling the heat from that distance. Needless to say I was a bit surprised to arrive home and see what was going on. I know this town is a boring town and we generally don't have that much excitement but I could do without this kind of excitement.

[Dave]

Took these pictures about an hour ago.... thought it was odd they were already demolishing the buildings but maybe they were simply to far gone to get in and do any real investigation. Only thing I've heard is that they figure it started in either the bar or the Pizza place. The Mexican eatery next to the pizza place was spared thanks to the quick response of the fire departments and a northerly breeze at the time.

[AQUAMAN]

I've recently witnessed two "almost fires" getting started the last few days, then put out quickly. This current drought combined with 30 mph winds is just what gets these types of fires going quickly, and spreading fast too. Great pics. Dave, sorry this happened in Shelby.

[XLFD]

We seriously need some rainy days for our farmers and our firefighters.  If the wind turbines were spinning we could blame those, after all they do affect local weather conditions, according to scientists:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/04/30/wind-farms-cause...

[Dave]

Some good news is coming out of the fire.. nice to see that people are still decent enough to help those displaced by such events.

SHELBY, MI -- It took losing all his possessions for Robert Murphy to realize he had more than he ever knew.

Everything he owned, except for his broken-down car, went up in the flames that claimed three downtown Shelby buildings Monday night.

But as awful as starting over is, Murphy gained something through the fire. He learned that the people in his hometown are good-hearted. He learned people have got his back, from the company he works for to the young woman he knows only through Facebook.

“You have far more than you think you have,” the 22-year-old said.

Murphy was working at Oceana Foods when the fire apparently started in the bar below his apartment. He and roommates Jaime Arjona, 20, and Jaime Garcia, 22, lost everything.

“Everything I worked for is just gone,” Murphy said. “I have to start over.”

Robert Murphy

But he’s not starting over alone. Even as the fire was still blazing, volunteers from the American Red Cross were on the scene, offering their help. He received texts from people he hadn’t talked to in years – and from the woman on Facebook he’s never met – offering their help.

As the three homeless friends were meeting with the Red Cross again Tuesday morning, in walked Julia Talmadge, the productivity manager from Oceana Foods. She was there to take her “boys” shopping for clothes, toiletries and whatever else they needed to get back on their feet.

“We just thought as a company, it is the humane thing to do,” said Sue Danyluk, office manager for Oceana Foods, which produces dehydrated fruit. “We all need to learn to take care of each other.”

She said the company quickly learned through “word of mouth” that two of its employees -- Murphy and Arjona -- were among the four who were left homeless by the fire.

“It’s a small town,” she said.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone interested in helping residents displaced by the Shelby fire are encouraged to contact Julia Talmadge via email at jtalmadge@oceanafoods.

The company paid for Talmadge to help Murphy and Arjona. Garcia, a former Oceana Foods employee, was helped by Talmadge herself, who said she reached out to him “because that’s what God wants people to do.”

“In a small town like this, the reaction is more on a personal basis,” said Talmadge, who moved to Shelby from Indianapolis three years ago. “I would never live anywhere else.”

Arjona said he was home alone when the fire started after 10:30 p.m. He said he smelled smoke, someone yelled there was a fire, and he “got out.” A fire investigator has determined that the fire started in The Other End Sports Bar below the men’s apartment.

Jaime Arjona

Once outside, Arjona joined the throngs of people who swarmed downtown to watch the three buildings burn.

“It just looked like everything was in flames,” Arjona said. “I was blankly staring at the fire.”

The fire drew nearly 60 firefighters from several surrounding departments. On Tuesday, the charred remains were torn down and loaded into semi-trailers.

With their home gone, the three men have found friends to stay with.

Garcia said he can replace the things he lost in the fire – almost everything.

“I had pictures in there I can’t ever replace,” he said.

The day after he lost everything, Murphy wanted to express his thanks for all the help he’s received. It came from people in the town he had left after he got out of high school.

“I left for awhile, but I came back,” he said. “This is my hometown.”

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/06/left_homeless_...

[Dave]

Had a bit of a surprise today when I was down in Muskegon. On my days off I usually head down there to hit a movie, a little shopping and a bite to eat. Generally before I head to eat I'll stop at a gas station to pick up a couple newspapers to read while I'm eating. So today I stop at my usual gas station and went over to newspaper rack where they had several papers including of course the local paper, the Muskegon Chronicle. Lead story was about the fire with a large picture of the demolished site. Below it, there was another picture that you could only see about an inch of but what I could see looked very familiar. I flip over the paper and sure enough, there was one of my pics (the last of the fire pics) which mentioned me and that my picture showed the ferocity of the fire. I gotta say its kind of cool to see something I did appear both on TV and in the local news paper... my 15 minutes of fame... lol.

[XLFD]

A photojournalist is born. 

I see you forgot to mention those six pictures of yours that we used here at the Ludington Torch.  Remember your roots; after all, we're the ones who published your car-deer accident photos when no one else would, LOL.

[Dave]

I promise to mention the Torch when I win a Pulitzer.. lol.

Was just looking to see if any other places used any of the images, the ABC station out of Traverse had one of the pics on their site too.

If this keeps up I'll have to start scheduling some appearances and autograph signings.. lol

[Willy]

Dave

Congratulations. You are now and ace reporter.