Fire Devastates Cog & Pearl, Unclear When It Will Reopen
A fire broke out on Thursday night inside the handmade gift boutique Cog & Pearl, at 190 5th Avenue on the corner of Sackett Street, leaving the business closed while they evaluate their next move.
It was an electrical fire that started with an extension cord they’ve been using in the shop for years without trouble, co-owner Kristin Overson tells us, who adds nothing was plugged into it at the time.
The FDNY got the call at about 9:20pm, and the responding 12 units and 60 firefighters got it under control just after 10pm. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the fire was disastrous for Cog & Pearl.
“The damage is enormous, and we have lost most of our inventory,” Kirstin says. “We are trying now to see what we can salvage and hope to offer a pop-up shop/fire sale to try to re-coup some of our losses. Although the building is covered by insurance, our inventory is not, so it’s unclear when we can open again.”Immediately next door, the butcher shop Fleischer’s was up and running this morning as usual.
“Our thoughts go out to friends & neighbors of Cog & Pearl,” they wrote on Twitter today. “Thankful no one was hurt in fire last night. Besides smoke our shop is fine.”
The team at Cog & Pearl is focused on cleaning up and salvaging what they can right now, but they’re hoping to organize a creative fundraiser so they can get back on their feet in the future. We’ll let you know when they do, but in the meantime, be sure to follow them on Facebook for updates, and to give them your support.
“We’ve experienced an enormous amount of support from locals in the past 24 hours,” Kristin says, “and it really helps with the devastation we’re experiencing.”
