Many years ago, a fire from a loose wire in the back of a Dance Studio on Main St began a fire that set-in Motion a catastrophe that would change Lake Placid forever
The wind was howling that terrible day like I had never seen without a Hurricane nearby it shook a service wire In the alley behind the Two Story Dance Studio, the fire ignited a tree in the back of the building and soon it
Engulfed the entire building, as the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department arrived the fire was in full force, They set up as quick as possible and called for multiple alarms far and wide, as the fire raged and the wind Increased, a large flume of smoke raced up Interlake Blvd by my Barbershop and everyone said: "Oh my God What's happening there must be a fire close by" Many including myself ran to see what would become the
Largest fire in Lake Placid History
Standing by the Lake Placid Woman's Club I could see the firemen rushing to get a hold on the speed of the Inferno to no avail, hoses flowing at full force could only slow not stop the flames the racing inferno leaped to The next building, now two buildings
Were on fire with heat rising evermore, and it seemed to be moving at an alarming speed, the possible loss of
The original Downtown area seemed inevitable as the extreme winds fanned the fire
Just as it looked like the firemen gained ground, the water would run low, so the flames would rekindle stronger Than before racing higher and hotter than ever, at one-point heat was so intense the palm trees in the median Began to ignite and the tops began to burn and the Firemen would have to fall back from the heat and douse the Trees with water to keep the buildings across the street from igniting and make it even worse The Firemen
Brought all the resources at their disposal to combat the fire, even what I think was a temporary reservoir to Keep the flow of water going, but to no avail the flames had now move to almost all of the buildings on that Block at this point it looked like five buildings were in a near full inferno
I went behind the building, close to the firehouse on Interlake Blvd to see what I could see and by now all were
On fire except Isabelle's Beauty Shop and the Old Town Office, through a rear window in the Town Office, I Could see some papers and books it hadn't engulfed yet Suddenly the paper began to flutter from the heat until They reached an ignition point and like a flash of lightning the entire room burst
Into flames all hope of saving the Town Hall evaporated and the only building left to save became Isabelle's Beauty Shop
Between the strong winds and the howl of the fire it was difficult to hear anything else with the constant Fire Expansion the reality of the moment began to sink in and we all knew an important part of Lake Placid would Soon lay in rubble never to be seen again and this nightmare could still spread even further if something didn't Change soon
The Lake Placid Fire Department finally began to gain, slowly at long last, an advantage on the inferno, their Leroic effort would end up saving the Isabella's Beauty Shop (the old Pope Theater), however all others were Lost that night, a large portion of Lake Placid history sank into the ashes to smolder for several days and a line Of cars would slowly drive by every day for a time to mourn the passing of an age
All of us will never forget the anguish of that night, watching our town scarred forever and yet from the ashes New buildings sprang up, what is once old becomes new as the old Polk Theater and the old Davis Shoe Store Buildings the last proud remains of the Pioneer spirit of Lake Placid stand as a proud reminder of the Main St of Bygone days, lost not forgotten
Lost not Forgotten
Lost not Forgotten