PHOTOS & VIDEO: [UPDATED 1:50 AM] A two story fire engulfed the Classy Cleaners building Thursday evening. At About 11:00 PM, Firefighters and Police arrived to the 5th Street building to find the back half of the building completely engulfed.
Smoke and flames could be seen from blocks away, and smoke could be smelled for many blocks away as well.
Neighborhing towns were called in to battle the flames, which was brought under control after about 20 minutes.
JCP&L responded to the scene after a transformer exploded and burned several wires.
There were no injuries reported, but Red Cross responded to assist building residents with finding placement for the night.
CIU is responding to the scene as well.
Hatzolah, Lakewood First Aid and EMS were also on scene.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. TLS-55/TLS-60/TLS-52/TLS-00/TLS-CCP/TLS-MPIP1
UPDATE: 1:20 AM. As the fire was brought under control on one side of the building, another side of the building began flaring up. The fire at this time has been mostly brought under control.
The Salvation Army has responded to the scene as well.
UPDATE 1:50 AM.The roof of the building as well as the second floor of the structure, has collapsed. The fire has been fully brought under control.
all my shirts!!!!!!!!!! They betta be insured!
Whats the halacha? are they a shomer sachar, a soicher, help!
Thank You to all our hard working firemen! A special thank you to D Miz and Y Beer!!!!!!!!!
WHAT A LOSS TO THE COMMUNITY.. THE OWNERS ARE EHLICHE PEOPLE…OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH THEM
Does anyone feel like this is another of a string of tragedies in the last few weeks?
Makes you wonder what Hashem is trying to say.
U guys forgot abt U Halle also a frum firedude he was 1st unit on location!!!!
we did’nt even start the three weeks and justlook what’s going on in Our circles! Hashem pleasehave rachmonus
I have a brand new pair of pants there! Gam zu letoiva..what’s halachah? Do they owe me for it cost price??? I know the owner is an erlicha real jew
Dear rabbi 3 weeks,
I think its time that all jews should unite and pick one thing and all of us should work on the same thing…
Guys we forgot to thank lakewoodscoop for ALWAYS getting hock right away!!!;););)
B”H nobody hurt!! We gotta just keep on Davening we never know what we are davening for!!!!!
What’s taking so long for fire dept to put it out???? 2 hours & its still going strong
C’mon now, don’t equate this with “the string of tragedies!”
Let’s see.3 gedolei hador, R’Koppelman, R’Michel Yehuda and R’ Chaim Stein pass away in 2 weeks time, a little boy is butchered…and classy cleaners burned down.
#9, the fire department has to work with huge budget cuts these days.
Kudos to Lakewood Fire Department for a job well done!
slow response and why did it take them so long to put out fire??
go uri !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#15 never happy are ya!
Slow response, I think if you went to the tape the response time was satisfactory
Some are never happy and love to hear themself complain – you fall in this category
How can we forget SHIMMY?? this fire would probably still go on without his help. that tzadik knows a lot
to all you nay sayers that are saying ow slow responce and why is the fire not out. I have one thing to say to you
(moderated)
tls i know you are not going to post this but I needed to say it anyway.
Im sick and tired of all the (moderated) of the people. They know (moderated) about what it takes to fight fires and all they do is (moderated) about it.
To all the brave firefighters out there to You I bless you & say thank you.
chazal teach us that fires come because of chilul shabos. we all need lots of chizuk in this area, without learning the halocos it is impossible to keep shabbos propally. how many of us know muktza, milaben.
chazal teach us that fires come because of chilul shabos. we all need lots of chizuk in this area, without learning the halocos it is impossible to keep shabbos propally. how many of us know muktza, milaben, etc?
today there is a new style just like we have smaoked foods
now we have smoked clothing
but to reb gershon
hashem yimalle chesroncah
Why did it take so long ? News flash this isn’t new york city where they have engines waiting 24/7. They have to call the brave volunteers from their homes. Lakewood only has two full time paid engines manned with one firefighter each. All in all the LFD did an outstanding job like always Kudos boys. Dont listen to the whiners on this blog
The fire in Fellers Pizza last summer was bigger!!!
Someone had posted a response asking about coverage for their loss.
I’ve had shirts lost in a dry cleaner fire before. Their insurance paid. They did want proof of those shirts. As I buy all of my dress shirts from Lands End and they were able to send me copy’s of my purchases.
It took a few weeks, but I did get a check for my loss.
no one is ever happy with the fire dept, the response was find, it was a tough fire to fight because of the fear of collapse thats why it took awhile,, and if anyone thinks they can do better,,,SIGN UP or SHUT UP
DOES IT MATTER IF THE THE OWNER WAS A JEW OR NOT??
people are not going to like this:
as far as Halacha is concerned, in all probability this is considered an onus gumur and he doesn’t have to pay.
even if he has insurance that is a contract between him and a insurance company.
unless on your ticket there is some form of contract that says you are covered.
however i hope he is a mentch and gives back the insurance money he gets to the people who had losses.
To all the people commenting on why the fire was put out the way it was. First there was no life to save in the fire so why put firefighters at risk by putting them inside an unsafe structure. Safety is our biggest goal. The building can be replaced along with all the contents. Lives cannot be replaced. Please if you never fought a fire or have no intention of joining the FD. Please DO NOT tell us how to do our job. REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST!
I just went to pick up my shirts! no shirts i guess!
>>> THIS IS WHY PARKING RULES ARE ENFORCED <<<
Oh no! This was the only cleaners I liked in Lakewood!
we should support the owners of classy cleaners
Jokes aside.
My shirts were meant to be ready Friday, I guess they may be at another location, Is there any new pick-up point, or do I need to go to Wallmart to buy a few new ones B4 the 3 weeks.
I acn’t afford to pay top dollar for 7 shirts at once.
In light of the terrible tragedy that befell Klal Yisroel this week, I will attempt to avoid any acerbic comments although I am tempted to state them:
Reading some of the comments here, one can only surmise what is symptomatic with us: SELFISHNESS.
“MY Shirts!” “MY Pants!” “MY Suit!” “MY Gotchkes!” Whatever…
As if to imply that while a few stores are temporarily out of business and they have to go through the hassle of insurance, perhaps relocating etc., the greater tragedy is the loss of the individuals’ clothing.
If there is one thing to be learned from the tremendous blow we suffered this week, it is Ahavas Yisroel. And the only way we can truly feel for another is by putting aside the attitude of, “I have to get there in a hurry”; “I need MY clothing”; “I must get to seder”; “MY children have to get to day camp NOW”…
MY this, MY that, I need, I want… You get the gist.
But WE have to put that all aside. WE have to look at what HE, SHE, THEY, need. What THEY are suffering through… WE will all be the better for it.
MYSELF included.
A Guten Shabbos und Besuros Tovos; a good weekend and better tidings to all…
to #4 & everyone else wondering why these tragic events-locally & worldwide-are happening?
Hashem is waiting for Klal yisroel to wake up & do teshuva
During the month of june 2011-over the time of 2 weeks-3 tzaddikim, from 3 different corners of the world left to the Olam Haemes (true world) & they’re names are Harav Yitzchok Dov Koppelman ZT”L from Europe, Harav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz ZT”L from Eretz Yisroel & Harav Chaim Stein ZT”L from the U.S.A. When a tragedy like this strikes the world everyone is asking what is the message from Hashem?. The RAMCHAL in Sefer Derech Hashem quotes, when klal yisroel is in a state of Sinning R”L, suffering & pain may be imposed upon a tzaddik as an atonement for his entire generation. In doing so the Tzaddik is raised to a level of leadership in Gan eden. When THREE tzaddikim are niftar in a matter of two weeks, Hashem is already on the level of begging klal yisroel to just start Teshuva & show a sign of remorse & repentance so that it does not need to continue Chas V’shalom on to a fourth tzaddik.
These 3 Tzaddikim (above) were not enough. so this time Hashem sent a DIFFERENT KIND of tzaddik-a boy at the age of 9 R”L who has not sinned yet-to wake us all up to come to teshuva & STOP KEEP ON PUSHING IT OFF will this be enough or will it need to continue? that is up to all of us
START TESHUVA NOW BEFORE TRAGEDY STRIKES AGAIN C”V
uri is that u when did u join?
#36- you are a navi; please tell me when the economic downturn will end
Tamun B’Aish, Poter Midinei Odom, V’Chayiv B’Dinie Shomayim.
I just cannot help but wonder about everybody offering views, ideas, and thoughts, about why and how. Is it I or we, you or she… Who knows.
The only person I can fully be aware of and Mahpia upon is.. Myself.
It is always easier to point outwards and say- this is the reason- or because of him or her.
The only way to change the world is by changing oneself.
At one point it looked like only a trickle of water was coming out of the one hose, at the west side of the building. Reduced water pressure, running out of water? Then, about 15 minutes later, the high water pressure returned. This occurred around 1:15 am, and the fire seemed almost all out at 2 am.
I hope the residents of the Eleanore Levovitz building are all okay, as the building was in the path of the smoke.
I’ve never seen so many people who know why Hashem is doing things.Maybe these wannabe prophets should invest in the stock market.
part of the difficulty in the extinguishing of the fire is all the chemicals used in the cleaning process. not all of them respond to water. thank the fire dept and thank hashem there was only 1 fire in lkwd at this time and not 2.
Great, now you yentas are bashing the fire department. There are a lot of plastics, textiles, machinery and chemicals at a dry cleaners. The fire dept did a great job. They had it contained within minutes and kept it from spreading. Our firefighters are all volunteers who risk their lives without pay every time they respond and all some of you can do is disparage them. They deserve our gratitutude not our censure. I can’t believe this is the same site and the same bloggers who all came together so beautifully and showed the world what klal Yisrael is really like. We went from making a true kiddush Hashem to making dumb, derrogatory, disparaging and downright stupid remarks in the blink of an eye. Grow up!
#38
NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS C”V you will not be joking around & beg hashem that you wished you & klal yisroel had taken it seriously earlier & started to do teshuva already
The Lakewood Fire Department, and all of their helpers, did a wonderful job in keeping people safe and that is the main part of their job.
I just want to comment about the tragedy of the young 9 year-old boy because it was brought up on this post. Why, when I was driving down County Line Road yesterday did I see a young boy…no more that 8 or 9…walking by himself across the street with a backpack. I felt like I was watching the news all over again. He had no adult supervision and ANYONE could have taken him. Did his parents not learn from the tragedy in New York? The “It will never happen to me or my family” mentality will claim more lives. Take the time out of your day to watch your children!! They are a gift!
There were no chemicals in the building but that fire was burning for a while before it showed its ugly face. When the call went out those brave firefighters were on a call on the other side of town so they had to leave there and respond here. Don’t judge if you don’t know the job. Its tough being a volunteer anywhere, here there is traffic all the time, people that always feel they are more important. If you want to become a firefighter..join a company I will fight fires next to you..No questions asked. Remember Lakewood has Paid firefighters and a volunteer back up..relax they were coming ..as for the response..the first trucks were on scene in 5 minutes..from time of the call. That is a great response for Lakewood at any time of day..
To #11,
This was a stubborn fire which happens when te roof collapses in and the fire load that is in the building. If you cn d better, please join and hep us out…….
My Suit and shirts were there. Thanks to His Place my suit is now being tailored I hope I can bring it to shatnez before shabbos.
To bad it was a good and cheap cleaners in a very good loacation.
Seriously? A business burns down, a family loses their parnasa, and all people are saying are “What?! They owe me for my shirts!”
Is a little sympathy too much to ask for?
we should be thanking the firefighters & not bashing them.
Very good points! Good jon lfd & let’s supports classy cleaners
I would assume that the cleaners had insurnace, and those of you who have burnt pants and shirts and gowns will be compensated. However, those who have fortunately not experienced the horrors of a fire in a business (or Chas V’chalila a home) can’t imagine the enormity of the task of putting together the information for the insurance claim.
there are so many people to thank…lpd for keeping traffic and crowd control despite the adults that felt they are fire proof. Lfas and ems for showing up promptly and taking command so efficiently. Steakout for all the food that was delivered. Salvation army, red cross, hatzalah, jcp&l, all the other fire dept and ems providers, and everyone that dropped what they were doing to run and help out with whatever was needed…thank you very much, if I left anyone out I’m sorry and thank you
I seem to remember claims that the community could get 100-200 volunteers to replace us, where are they? We could could certainly use the extra hands; there’s a lot of of work involved in putting out a fire. Maybe that’s it though, IT’S A LOT OF WORK and training to do what we do for this town for FREE. As someone else commented PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
This was not your average fire and anyone with firefighting knowledge or background would say the LFD did an excellent job with this fire.
A Lakewood Firefighter
I had a white shirt there.
Tickets after # 2915 Are probably not back in the store yet, earlier numbers could probably say BD”E & get 10 times the cleaning cost see back of ticket.
Nothing sure yet though.
BTW Mr. Price has shirts 2 for $20.00 & 2 suits for $130.00 so if yours got burned up & you are short of buck, you may want to look over there.
Classy Cleaners was a great cleaners. They were centrally located and very cheap prices. I really hope they bring a trailer in or something and get the place back up and running soon.
IF THIS FIRE WAS ON A VERY VERY HOT DAY, OR AN EXTREMELY WINDY DAY, THEN LAKEWOOD WOULD HAVE OTHER PROBLEMS, WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL THAT NO ONE SUFFERED INJURY, THAT FIREMEN FROM POINT AND BRICK WERE THERE AND WE GIVE THANKS,
upsetting to see that at one point the water pressure was so littel and this presented a major flare up.
IMAGINE LAKEWOOD IS BUILDING the newer buildings at 65 feet high.
IMAGINE ON A WINDY DAY HOW LONG THAT WOULD TAKE TO PUT A FIRE OUT ON A BLDG, 65 FT HIGH. welcome to lakewood folks.
Those of you who are worried about your lousy shirts or pants oughta be ashamed of yourselves. The family whose business was destroyed needs HELP from the community not more tsouris worrying about your wardrobe. Those kind of comments feed right into the stereotype held by some others about our people. Thank you Reb Rambo for enlightening the self-centered among us.
How can you worry who will pay for your shirts?????Men do there jobs to save people and you worry about your shirts……You go out for the next fire and put it out. Thank God for the firemen and the policemen who have lost time and money thanks to Gov Christie. When no one steps up the plate and takes these jobs who will, YOU????????The firemen in Lakewood should go to another town maybe they will be appreciated there, everyone else has moved……
Thank you Firefighters for keeping the fire contained to just the one buildings Was there a working fire alarm system or sprinkler system in the building ?
where are my 100 volunteers
Kudos to you #54
I heard they are in a fire academy but which one because Neither Ocean or Monmouth have any classes right now
lets support classy cleaners owned by the erlicha honest goldblatts who are great people
the poor ownner just lost his business!!! please forget your dumb shirts and have a little rachmanoss!!!!!!!