The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Laesch's diligence prevented a real tragedy
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
Heroes aren't born of tragedy - they are born much earlier. But it's often during times of tragedy that we get to meet them. Chelsea met one on Monday.
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Carl Laesch takes a seat for the first time in hours. The sun shines down and the sky is blue, but Laesch's world is suddenly black. As he sits down on the curb, he tries to manage a smile. Good people try to be good people, even when everything around them goes bad.
And Carl Laesch is a good person.
A few hours earlier Laesch watched his Aleko's Restaurant - along with several other businesses - torn apart by flames during Monday's fire at the Chelsea Shopping Center. And while his dreams haven't exactly gone up in smoke, Laesch was wearing a face of soot, exhaustion and despair.
He didn't look like a hero. But not all heroes wear capes. Some, like Laesch, wear a dirty blue T-shirt and sweat pants.
The day started out like any other day. Business was starting to pick up after a typical slow winter and Laesch was preparing food for the lunch crowd. Then everything changed.
"I was in the store when someone asked if I had something burning or if I was having trouble with my exhaust," said Laesch, still trying to figure out the details of what had just happened. "I poked my head out the front door and saw a little smoke, but everything inside was fine."
Laesch could have just figured it was someone else's problem and ignored it.
Fortunately, he didn't.
Laesch said he went out back to see if he could see anything from the behind the building. No problems in the back. He could have just figured it was nothing and ignored it.
Fortunately, he didn't.
"I turned off the power, hoisted myself up and climbed up the gas poles to the ceiling," he said. "Again, I didn't see anything up on the roof. There was no smoke. Nothing."
Again, Laesch could have been satisfied.
Fortunately, he wasn't.
"I walked to the front and touched the front wall," he said. "And it was hot. The sun was shining, but this was more than the sun hitting it. It was really hot. And then I saw some smoke coming out."
Laesch didn't hesitate a second after that. He yelled down for someone to call 911 right away. He quickly got everyone out of his restaurant and then began making his way down the strip mall, yelling for people to get out of the building.
It occurred to him that maybe he was overreacting. He would get his answer to that soon enough. For now, he hurried down the sidewalk, opening doors and yelling to people to get out of the building. He wanted to make sure everyone was safe.
Fortunately, he did.
"After we had made sure everyone was out, I went back in and grabbed my cell phone and my keys and got out of there," he said. "By the time I reached the parking lot, you could clearly see flames. I couldn't believe how quickly it happened."
Laesch said he climbed the roof at about 12:40. By 12:55, he was standing in the parking lot talking to his wife on his cell phone and describing huge flames engulfing his building, his restaurant, his livelihood.
It took Laesch more than seven months from the time he got the keys to the time he opened his doors. And from 12:40 to 12:55 on Monday it was gone. Fifteen minutes wiped out months of hard work.
Laesch just shakes his head, still not believing what had just happened. The prime time for restaurants like Aleko's is just beginning. Every day closed hurts. Every week that goes by is another week they will never get back.
"I'm just glad no one got hurt," he said. "The firefighters did an amazing job and I'm glad they are all OK."
It's too soon to say how the fire started. It's too early to think about how long the closed sign will hang from the door. The water damage inside Aleko's is extensive. Laesch realizes there is a lot of work to be done - hopefully, not the seven or eight months it took before.
For now, Laesch can only sit for a few minutes and try to process everything. The sun is beating down, but Laesch doesn't see it. He only sees smoke, water, debris and ashes.
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