April 13, 2009
Saying they are glad nobody was hurt in the collapse of the historic Eggleston Hotel this weekend, firefighters remained “nonetheless disappointed” that they were unable to get any heroic, daring rescues out of the incident.
The vacant and deteriorating Eggleston, once host to a number of the nation’s black entertainers and athletes, collapsed around 5:45 a.m. Saturday in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward. Because no one was inside the building at the time, R
ichmond Lt. Fire Marshal Michael M. Strickland said crews were unable to use cool hydraulic cutters, swing axes or have the opportunity to see themselves on the front page of the newspaper pulling and saving a small child from the rubble.
“Something like this only comes around every now and then in a firefighter’s career, so yeah, not being able to be called a hero does get you down a bit,” Strickland said. “Given the circumstances, though, we’re just glad no one was inside the place.”
“I guess,” he quickly added, shrugging his shoulders.
Once arriving on the scene, emergency crews spent nearly three hours in search-and-rescue mode, combing through mangled wood, metal and wires for victims that would never turn up. Firefighters later said it was “with mixed feelings” that the operation was scaled back to a simply cleanup effort and reflection on the loss of an iconic Richmond landmark.
“There wasn’t even a fire or a gas leak, or pregnant woman or grandma or group of schoolkids trapped inside. No nothing,” Strickland said, kicking a corner of the building in frustration. “I don’t even know why we showed up to the stupid thing, to tell you the truth.”
As of press time, firefighters were seen removing their gear and jumping into the remains of the Eggleston to reenact scenes from Backdraft.
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Guy Who Lives Above 3 Monkeys Tired Of Asking Everyone To Keep It Down
Nick Cavalieri, who has lived in the apartment directly above 3 Monkeys Bar and Grill since November, is getting "more than fed up" with having to continuously tell his neighbors to be quiet, the 30-year-old said today.
"Monday through Sunday, I hear those guys partying pretty much every night," Cavalieri said. The University ...
Dude, you use my photo and then link to the RTD story? I see how it goes… (Eggleston Hotel collapses after decades of neglect )
[...] scoop on, like, what the firefighters were feeling at the Eggleston Hotel collapse on Saturday in Firefighters Kinda Bummed They Didn’t Get To Perform Daring Rescue In Building Collapse. Posted by john_m at 2:52PM under RVANews-news, redevelopment | Tags: [...]
Oh dang, we should have gone to CJWN. But we did link to your Flickr.
Or Flicker, as the RTD spelled it last week.
WHO IS LIEUTENANT MICHAEL M. STRICKLAND? HE DOESN’T WORK FOR THE RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT. THAT MEANS ALL OF HIS COMMENTS ARE FALSE. NO FIREMAN IN OUR CITY IS EVER “BUMMED” WHEN THEY RESPOND TO A SCENE AND FIND NO INJURIES OR NEED FOR HEROICS. WHO EVER WROTE THIS ARTICLE SHOULD CONTACT RICHMOND FIRE’S PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER OR FIRE MARSHALL’S OFFICE TO GET THE CORRECT FACTS. AGAIN THERE IS NO FIRE MARSHALL STRICKLAND WORKING FOR THE RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT!
Wait, so you are saying the news on this site is fake? I don’t get it…
Dear Lieutenant,
Please see Dictionary.com. This may answer your concerns:
sat⋅ire (n.) — a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
Also,
low⋅er⋅case (adj.) — (of an alphabetical letter) of a particular form often different from and smaller than its corresponding capital letter, and occurring after the initial letter of a proper name, of the first word in a sentence, etc. Examples: a, b, q, r.
Take care.