H St, NE’s Argonaut Bar and Restaurant Boarded Up Due to Fire

Coming back from New York Sunday morning I was saddened to hear the news that the Argonaut, 1433 H Street, NE, had experienced a fairly severe fire. The owners write on The Argonaut’s blog:

* Nobody was in The Argonaut at the time, and nobody got hurt.

* We don’t know who called 911 this morning, but whoever you are, thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. Because of your call, the fire department was able to get there before the damage (which is very extensive, but pretty much only in the kitchen and bar area) was able to spread.

* Most of you may not know this, but our kitchen used to be an alley. Which means that the wall separating the kitchen and the bar is an “outside wall” and is several layers of brick. We are very thankful for that brick wall – it helped contain the fire.

* And thanks so much to the DC Fire Department. Seeing the kitchen, it really hit home about what they actually have to do. I cannot imagine having to walk inside what I can only imagine was an inferno…

* And thanks to Nancy & Graham, and Bill, Liz, Mika & Eila for watching Ara for the first part of the day. Thankfully, I had the good sense not to bring my toddler to a fire and they were ready, willing, and able to help! (And thanks to everybody else who offered to watch her…)

You can see photos of the damage inside and learn about their next steps here.