Okida Hall nearly burns to the ground

Loyal readers will remember our former studio, Okida Hall, located conveniently in the heart of Japantown and across the street from my apartment building.







Sadly, we had to move to another space back in August.













Tonight, the old wooden building that was behind Okida burned to a crisp and very nearly took Okida Hall with it.






























Okida Hall itself didn't catch on fire, but there's going to be a lot of smoke damage and maybe some water damage. If we were still in there, we would've lost a lot of stuff.






Firemen broke down the front door and took hoses into the building. It hurt just a little bit, watching them hack at the door with a giant ax.






Can you imagine how beside ourselves we'd be, if our drums, costumes, and everything else we own were all still in there?

Oy...



UPDATE:
One person died in the fire.

Sad...