New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
New Haven board game store temporarily closed after fire
NEW HAVEN — Elm City Games on Orange Street is closed until further notice after a fire broke out Saturday at the business, leaving it without heat.
Players were in the middle of a Magic: The Gathering and a pre-release tournament when the store’s boiler caught fire; most of the fire went into the basement, the space patrons wouldn’t normally see, according to co-owner Matt Fantastic. No injuries were reported.
“It could have been a lot worse than it is, so we’re pretty thankful for that,” Fantastic said.
He recalled smelling smoke and trying to figure out whether it was from his store or a neighboring one before deciding to call the Fire Department.
“There were a lot of firefighters, too many to count, so I don’t know, 15-20 plus, and there were a lot of firetrucks; most of the block was covered in fire trucks,” Fantastic said.
In terms of the damage, Fantastic said the structure itself didn’t suffer much but the main repairs will be to the furnace and boiler, which needed to be completely replaced. The smoke cruised out through the space but it was mostly utility and storage rooms.
The recovery work started Monday and the store remained closed as of Tuesday. The staff said once the heating system gets fixed and the store passes an inspection, there will be an update on its social media pages.
Fantastic said he doesn’t have a specific timeline but hopes to reopen “within the next few days.” He said the staff was grateful for the community support.
“Our friends at 770 Chapel, they let us use their lobby area and we were able to pull out some folding tables and be inside,” Fantastic said. “And I bought everybody a few cases of beer while we were waiting for the fire to get all cleared.”
“That was an absurd situation, but also still kind of a positive atmosphere of everybody being worried, but thankful that nobody got hurt,” he added, noting it’s the concept Elm City Games grew around.