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Articles
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| Fire shutters Dottie’s, Trover gift shop moving to bookstore |
VOICE writes, "Fire shutters Dottie’s, Trover gift shop moving to bookstore
BY BEN WEINSTEIN
A Sept. 18 fire closed Seventh Street clothier Dottie's Boutique. An electrical malfunction started the blaze, according to a fire department spokesman.
Last Tuesday at about 10:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the "relatively small fire," which took about 20 minutes to extinguish and caused about $20,000 in damage, fire department spokesman Alan Etter said. There were no injuries."
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Etter said a low-quality extension cord overloaded with appliances burned through its insulation — a refrigerator, microwave and fax machine were plugged into the extension cord and power strip running off the cord, according to the owner. The fire started in a storeroom and damaged electrical infrastructure and some wood.
"You can't get an extension cord from a dollar store and think you can run every appliance in the place off it," Etter said, adding that the fire department recommends not using multiple-outlet extension cords in homes or offices. He said to look for Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification on extension cords and power strips.
Though it was a small fire, owner Dottie Labat said nearly all her merchandise was destroyed or left too damaged to sell. "As far as I'm concerned, with the closing, it's total," she said, adding that some jewelry may be salvageable.
Labat said she's not sure when she can reopen the store. "That depends on the insurance company," she said, adding that she's shooting for early next year to next spring.
"I've really enjoyed it very much," Labat said of her 25 years running the store. She added that she hopes to reopen and keep the store for at least another two years.
Meanwhile, the Trover Gift Shop will reopen as early as next week inside The Trover Shop book store, just a few doors over from the location damaged in last month's fire.
Co-owner Al Shuman said the Aug. 8 fire completely destroyed the gift shop's inventory. He added that the building, at 227 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, suffered some fire and water damage.
The bookstore will offer some of the gift store's merchandise, including cards and gift wrap, Shuman said.
Investigators determined that a cigarette discarded in a trash receptacle behind Capitol Lounge started the fire, which spread next door to the gift shop. It was the Capitol Lounge's second fire in as many years, both caused by cigarettes — the bar reopened shortly after the latest fire.
After the blaze, fire department Chief Dennis Rubin called for a law requiring District vendors to offer fire-safe cigarettes. Many states already have laws mandating the sale of the fire-safe cigarettes, which burn slower and go out quicker than conventional cigarettes.
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Posted on Sep 25, 2007 20:30pm.
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