02-18-2009, 10:10 PM
It's been a year already since the gas explosion. Here is an update.
<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-waukegan-explode-nzone-18feb18,0,7642744.story">www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chica ... 2744.story</a><!-- w -->
chicagotribune.com
Year later, Waukegan block still bears blast's scars
Shops slow to rebound from explosion
By Ralph Zahorik
Special to the Tribune
February 18, 2009
Nearly a year after a spectacular midday gas explosion destroyed five small shops on Grand Avenue in Waukegan, some business owners are struggling to survive, and investigators have yet to pinpoint the source of the blast.
Ramzan "Andy" Andani and his wife were in their mobile phone store in the 1900 block of Grand Avenue last Feb. 28 when the roof collapsed in an explosion that destroyed his and other shops in a commercial building.
Andani, 50, said he had no insurance and lost everything. Six months after the blast, he moved across the street and started again, but his wife doesn't like to come to the store.
"Whenever she hears a noise or smells gas at home, it scares her," Andani said.
Andani's mother died in September. His new store was burglarized in October, and he was robbed in December.
"My 15-year-old son helps outâhe's really good with computersâbut I don't know if I can last here," Andani said. The blast shook the entire block.
"I thought it was a bomb," said Rebekah Podyma in the nearby Living Foods Pantry store.
Eight people were injured in the explosionâthree of whom were in Marta Aguirre's hair salon, now called Cleo's Unisex.
Initial reports last year were that the explosion originated in Cleo's, but authorities now say it was touched off at the rear of Tuxedo World.
Aguirre moved a couple of blocks east to a storefront at 1604 Grand Ave. and seems to be doing a thriving business.
The damage caused by the explosion was estimated at $860,000, Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said. That does not include the loss of business or the costs of relocating.
Nearby stores suffered losses as well, including Living Foods Pantry, which lost most of its inventory because food was open to the elements after the blast shattered windows, Lenzi said.
"The real cost might be $2 million," he said.
Insurance companies for North Shore Gas and other interested parties are still investigating the explosion.
"A private mechanical engineer from Pennsylvania was hired to investigate, but we've heard nothing back on it," Lenzi said. "They've spent tens of thousands [of dollars], maybe hundreds of thousands, on the investigation. ⦠Who pays depends on a lot of things, whether there was a faulty regulator on an inside boiler, whether there was something wrong with a hot-water heater, whether it was an outside regulator."
Facundo Hurtado operated a flower, gift and music shop, check-cashing service and travel agency at his Mega Flor store at 1912 Grand Ave. Today, he's a block down the street, but he no longer has a flower shop, check service or a store of his own. He rents a desk at a home loan company, and his only business is the travel agency.
Tuxedo World's owner couldn't be reached, but city officials and business people in the area said the store did not reopen in Waukegan.
The fifth store, Gardner's Records, had been vacant for about a month before the blast. The owner couldn't be reached.
The building was razed after the explosion. The site now is an empty lot.
Some nearby businesses would like to see the city buy the property and put in a parking lot.
<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-waukegan-explode-nzone-18feb18,0,7642744.story">www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chica ... 2744.story</a><!-- w -->
chicagotribune.com
Year later, Waukegan block still bears blast's scars
Shops slow to rebound from explosion
By Ralph Zahorik
Special to the Tribune
February 18, 2009
Nearly a year after a spectacular midday gas explosion destroyed five small shops on Grand Avenue in Waukegan, some business owners are struggling to survive, and investigators have yet to pinpoint the source of the blast.
Ramzan "Andy" Andani and his wife were in their mobile phone store in the 1900 block of Grand Avenue last Feb. 28 when the roof collapsed in an explosion that destroyed his and other shops in a commercial building.
Andani, 50, said he had no insurance and lost everything. Six months after the blast, he moved across the street and started again, but his wife doesn't like to come to the store.
"Whenever she hears a noise or smells gas at home, it scares her," Andani said.
Andani's mother died in September. His new store was burglarized in October, and he was robbed in December.
"My 15-year-old son helps outâhe's really good with computersâbut I don't know if I can last here," Andani said. The blast shook the entire block.
"I thought it was a bomb," said Rebekah Podyma in the nearby Living Foods Pantry store.
Eight people were injured in the explosionâthree of whom were in Marta Aguirre's hair salon, now called Cleo's Unisex.
Initial reports last year were that the explosion originated in Cleo's, but authorities now say it was touched off at the rear of Tuxedo World.
Aguirre moved a couple of blocks east to a storefront at 1604 Grand Ave. and seems to be doing a thriving business.
The damage caused by the explosion was estimated at $860,000, Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said. That does not include the loss of business or the costs of relocating.
Nearby stores suffered losses as well, including Living Foods Pantry, which lost most of its inventory because food was open to the elements after the blast shattered windows, Lenzi said.
"The real cost might be $2 million," he said.
Insurance companies for North Shore Gas and other interested parties are still investigating the explosion.
"A private mechanical engineer from Pennsylvania was hired to investigate, but we've heard nothing back on it," Lenzi said. "They've spent tens of thousands [of dollars], maybe hundreds of thousands, on the investigation. ⦠Who pays depends on a lot of things, whether there was a faulty regulator on an inside boiler, whether there was something wrong with a hot-water heater, whether it was an outside regulator."
Facundo Hurtado operated a flower, gift and music shop, check-cashing service and travel agency at his Mega Flor store at 1912 Grand Ave. Today, he's a block down the street, but he no longer has a flower shop, check service or a store of his own. He rents a desk at a home loan company, and his only business is the travel agency.
Tuxedo World's owner couldn't be reached, but city officials and business people in the area said the store did not reopen in Waukegan.
The fifth store, Gardner's Records, had been vacant for about a month before the blast. The owner couldn't be reached.
The building was razed after the explosion. The site now is an empty lot.
Some nearby businesses would like to see the city buy the property and put in a parking lot.