Flying Poodles

Last weekend wasn’t so good…

Last Sunday morning, Jay and I were woken up at 1:46 AM by a call from the company that handles our security alarm for our internet bicycle parts business in Portland Bike Tires Direct . Anytime the alarm company calls at 1 AM, I know it’s not going to be good news. We’ve had four “meth head” breakins over the years, and it means getting a window replaced and buying a new computer. Generally, it’s a pain in the rear, and getting woken up is a pain in the rear, but we’ve gotten good at it, and the meth heads are pretty stupid. I mean, they went past the 13.5 pound carbon frame luxury bike to steal a $400 computer last time.

It wasn’t a meth head.

In fact, we made the morning news. We made the evening news, and they were still showing the footage Monday morning. I don’t blame them. It was great video. Before I go on, I will stress that no one was hurt and the business was fully insured.

Check out this link: 3-alarm fire rips through NE business

This is what it looked like when we got there:

(I took that picture with my iPhone. Not bad for a camera phone. The iPhone really came in handy. By the end of the day Sunday I had emailed the photo above to at least ten people, including the fire insurance company and our insurance agent.)

The fire was still smoldering when I got there at 11 AM. At its peak–you can see it in the videos above–there were 90 firefighters there. The roof collapsed. (That’s blue sky in the picture. It was a gorgeous day.) No one got hurt. It happened at night and no one was nearby, and the firefighters knew it was just bike tires–and no one got hurt.

It did get a little exciting, I gather, when the 4000 CO2 cartridges that we had in stock (really useful to inflate bike tires) started exploding. Some of them were found out in the street.–about 300 yards away.

The investigation by the fire investigators–who are first class people and very kind–didn’t conclude until Monday evening. They had to take out debris with a backhoe, and before they could do that they had to brace the outside walls. The cause is listed as “undetermined” which means they don’t know it was arson and they don’t know it wasn’t. I know I didn’t do it.

What we do know is that it was a total loss. Everything in the warehouse is completely destroyed. If not by fire, then by water or smoke. (If you’re looking for Inov-8 shoes, they were in a different warehouse, and we’ll be able to start shipping again soon. Send me an email if it’s urgent.)

And I do have to thank the world’s finest poodle sitter, who took the dogs Sunday morning at 9 and kept them until last night at 9, and who made sure I didn’t have to worry one bit about their happiness or safety while Jay and I began dealing with the fire. Thank you, Cat.