I was at the Village Cafe having lunch with a friend when we say the smoke. We paid our tab and walked over to Grace at Shafer and were hit by the heat of the fire. I lived on that block, on the same side of the street, but at the other end. I grabbed a bag and some clothes, and almost wasn't allowed to move my car (which was parked off the alleyway). The next day, a group of us walked down West Broad Street with Bill Pantele, who was then the president of Richmond City Council. It was like walking through a war zone, with cars melted to the street, and debris everywhere. Beyond some water damage to my apartment, I made it out unscathed