A three-alarm fire raced through a Willow Avenue gentleman’s club last Saturday morning, causing extensive damage to a business that was undergoing reconstruction.
According to North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Co-Director Jeff Welz, the fire at The Squeeze, the township’s lone adult entertainment club, was reported at 10 a.m., but must have been burning for some time prior to the first unit arriving on the scene a minute after the fire call was received.
“The fire had already destroyed the interior of the building by the time we arrived,” Welz said. “The Squeeze was unoccupied, so it was not known how long the fire was burning. When the first engine arrived, they found a heavy fire condition in the rear of the building, with visible flames coming from the roof area.”
Upon arrival on the scene, NHRFR Deputy Chief Eric Inauen immediately called for a second alarm, bringing additional fire apparatus and men to the scene. The first unit, from Engine 19, responded in the matter of seconds, because the station is located across the street from the fire.
“The immediate concern was that the building was directly attached to two three-story buildings with multiple occupancies,” Welz said. “We didn’t want the fire to spread to the adjacent buildings.”
Firefighters took an aggressive approach in battling the blaze, to keep it from spreading.
“We let the fire burn through the roof vertically, which stops the fire from spreading horizontally,” Welz said. “Once it burned through the roof, then we went aggressively to stop the fire.”
A third alarm was called soon after, which then brought a total of 45 firefighters and 12 fire vehicles to the scene.
“With a fire company across the street and the resources of the regional, we were able to bring the fire under control in about 15 minutes,” Welz said. “It really was an impressive show in what could have become a very dangerous situation, especially with the adjacent buildings.”
Incredibly, no firefighters were injured in fighting the intense blaze, which caused an estimated $500,000 of damage.
Welz said that The Squeeze had been closed for a while and was in the process of major renovation and reconstruction, which might have fueled speculation for possible foul play.
However, fire investigators believe that the fire may have been caused by an electrical malfunction, located somewhere in the walls.
“Because of the way the fire spread up, investigators believed that the fire must have started in the walls,” Welz said.
However, the investigation is not complete and the cause of the fire will be turned over to insurance authorities. But it does not appear that any criminal charges will stem from the fire.
Female dancers
In past years, The Squeeze, which featured female dancers and live female entertainment, was the source of several headaches for the Weehawken police department. The police had to respond to several calls regarding infractions on the township’s lewdness laws, as well as altercations.
However, Welz, who is also the township’s director of public safety, said that the business has been trouble-free in the last 18 months or so.
“We’ve had undercover officers go in there to insure that they are following the codes of the township’s lewdness ordinance,” Welz said. “Although the location has had a long history, there is a new owner and since the owner has taken over, there has been no serious criminal activity and only occasional complaints about illegal parking.”
It is not immediately known whether the current owner, Regina Walsh of Paterson, will continue with the reconstructions and renovations to her building or whether she plans on reopening the business on the site in the near future.
Efforts to reach Walsh by press time were unsuccessful.