At the top of the newscast, we told you about the aftermath of the human tragedy in the Kimmy's Fire on Wednesday morning. But apart from the loss of 21 year old Jacqueline Arteaga's life, there is also substantial loss of property. Geovanni Smith of Business Computer Systems told us he lost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars - and that's just for the items he had inside! The three-story, eighty plus year old building was owned by Buster Chavannes - which is a separate loss. Neither Smith's contents nor the Chavannes structure could be insured because the building is wooden.
His neighbor, Pandora's Café who has been in that location for ten years is in the same situation. The building he rents wasn't insured and it wasn't destroyed, but just about everything he had inside was destroyed either by fire or water. Today we found him picking up the pieces. He asked to appear off camera:..
Wilson, Owner - Pandora's Cafe
"The whole roof is gone, so t cannot be used for anything else right now. It happened so fast."
Jules Vasquez
"Sir, do you blame anyone for this?"
Wilson, Owner - Pandora's Cafe
"I can't blame anyone. Of course we blame, but it's no use right."
Jules Vasquez
"Were you insured?"
Wilson, Owner - Pandora's Cafe
"No, we should have."
Reports are that the Central Building Authority wants to demolish the Chavannes building because it is a public hazard.
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