Central London restaurant on fire (Hard Rock Cafe)

[Minstrel Boy]

Central London restaurant on fire

July 9

A fire has broken out at the Hard Rock Cafe in central London.
Eight fire engines are attending to the fire at the seven-storey restaurant situated in Piccadilly's Park Lane, the London Fire Brigade said.

Ducting at the building was alight from the ground all the way up to the roof, a spokeswoman said. There is no information on casualties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4668157.stm

[Parche]

1. fire

Was Al Kida, or Al-Zarqawi eating there recently?

[NEDem]

2. No, but fmr Mayor Rudy was eating dinner down the street.

[oldtime dfl_er]

4. LOL!

ya beat me to it!

http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/654252

[YDogg]

6. Exactly!

How messed-up was that --- Rudy G. in London? Weird as heck. Didn't he also survive the tsunami??

[Parche]

11. Rudy G

I saw him in near the Murah building in Oklahoma on that tragic day

Wasnt he also on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941?

[CJCRANE]

22. Wasn't he the guy on the grassy knoll?

[givemebackmycountry]

3. More likely it was Rudy Guliani.... n/t

[NEDem]

5. this is why I love this place

2 people thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time.

[SoCalDem]

20. Rudy is everywhere... Is he related to THIS guy?

from the irreverant kids at www.b3ta.com..(a UK site)

[elehhhhna]

7. Why do they hate Freeedom Fries?

[icymist]

14. See now! I thought you said 'Freemason fries' , little different, huh?

I think it's past my bedtime, being that I work a midnight job!

[skooooo]

8. I wonder if it's arson?

or another attack?

[Bluebear]

Was Ghouliani dining there? nt

[HeeBGBz]

9. I've been there before

It was the first Hard Rock that I ever went to. It was the one on the cover of the Doors Morrison Hotel album.

[shance]

10. Gosh it must have been "Al Quaida" and /or "Islamic terrorists"

Im sure it "looks like the work of Al Quaidans".

;-)

[MadisonProgressive]

19. It's a hallmark of Al-Qaeda, for sure!

[SoCalDem]

21. HardRock will pay for the bad couscous

:scared:

[daleo]

12. Oddly I had been thinking of this very thing earlier today

It occurred to me that anyone with a lighter and a desire for mass murder could wreak tremendous havoc in all kinds of public places. Low tech terrorism would be incredibly difficult to prevent.

[pfitz59]

13. Can't "fight" terrorism in the conventional sense.....

terrorists always have the upper hand. Must root out the underlying reason why such acts occur. As for the Middle East look no further than: 1) Phenomenally high birth rate with rigid social hierarchy. (Translates to 30-40% unemployment with zero chance for a better life.) 2) Militant, clannish, male-dominated society where the first solution is to reach for a gun. 3) Brutal dictatorships funded and supported by ultra-greedy international corporations (Who funded and armed Ibn Saud? Who continues to hide banking transactions and real expenditures of wealth?) 4) Religious zealotry, on all sides! As long as the BFEE remain in control none of these issues will be addressed.

[XemaSab]

15. Why does your description of the middle east

sound like the rural US?

[pfitz59]

16. Didn't think about it, but.....

Sounds a lot like the shitty little mill town I grew up in! As for the Middle East, I've been there and seen a lot of this first hand! There is NO SHORTAGE of angry, unemployed desperate young men in Arabia!

[oioioi]

17. Kick - no more news on this????

Birmingham (UK) downtown evacuated past 10 hours - not much on this either.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1614914

[damnthetorpedoes]

18. I used to work there

Bussed tables, washed dishes, and eventually wound up doing desert prep in the early 80s for almost a year.

Chill out on the terrorism thing. Almost certainly this is a kitchen fire gone haywire if the ductwork is burning before anything else.

HR is a crazy, crazy place. I never worked at a busier or more high pressure restaurant in my kitchen days. "Why do they hate us for our Freedom Fries?" is apropos (and damn funny). Even in a potato-mad city like London, HR probably serves more fries than all the fish and chip shops in town. The kitchen was a madhouse, and it's entirely plausible to me that this is a grease fire in the oven ductwork gone out of control.

HR is a goldmine. I'm sure it will be back. I loved working there, but it was exhausting. Saw a lot of celebs every night. And the huge American clientele actually tips, unlike British restaurant-goers at the time.

[Historic NY]

23. It one of my stops when I get to London.......

and the coffee sucks there too.......white or black...:puke:

Treked all over England and still couldn't find a good coffee.