Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Hillcrest Fire: Jason's Story

On Monday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m., Moxie Theatre hosts "After the Fire -- A Benefit Jam for Jason Connors and Gwen Fish." They lost everything in the recent Hillcrest fire.

On July 1, Jason gave his landlord 30 days notice. He and his girlfriend, Emily Merchant, wanted their first home together. The lease on his current apartment, at 1033 University Avenue, only permitted a single occupant.

Around 3:10 on Wednesday, Jason was on his way to inspect a possible rental. As he drove past 1033, a friend riding with him saw smoke coming from the roof.

Jason pulled over. "There were no fire trucks then, just some onlookers. And smoke getting blacker and blacker." For the next two and a half hours, Jason watched as flames and crowds and noises grew. Fire trucks charged in. Police erected barricades. Lights blinked. TV trucks, with familiar logos, arrived soon after.

Jason watched the fire go out in one location and flare up in another. Then puffs of smoke arose from his third floor window.

"A flame started where my closet would be: all the memorabilia of my dad [who died two years ago], letters, his old LP records probably melting, pictures of us when I was a little boy."

He watched a fireman hack a hole in the wall of his apartment. Another brought a hose on a hydraulic lift. Water shot through the opening. The torrent wouldn't stop.

"That's when it became real for me: water power-blasting my home. That was my rude awakening."

A second came when he had to phone Emily. She was teaching English as a Second Language in Suzhou, China.

"I've got to tell you something," he said. "It's serious. Nobody died. And I didn't do it. The apartment caught fire. It looks bad.

"At first she thought I was pulling her leg. It took time to sink in."

Emily returns from China this Saturday. Jason hopes to have the new apartment as ready as possible.

He's a Resident Artist at Cygnet Theatre (the night of the fire, he performed in Our Town: "the show went on"). He's an actor, sound designer, composer, playwright, and director. The fire destroyed his instruments of creativity.

On Saturday morning he was allowed back into the building. Tenants went in one at a time. Most stayed about five minutes and left. As he walked down halls of bubbling wallpaper, Jason began to feel dizzy. He saw "skeletons of rooms; no way they could have retrieved anything."

He saw comparatively little soot or charring. The room was just soaked through. His prized Yamaha S80 keyboard looked clean, as did his desk and laptop computers (and his expensive, Sample Tank program that can replicate every musical instrument). Maybe his library of sound effects -- hundreds, accumulated over the years -- withstood the havoc? He peered closer.

"I thought I was prepared, but wasn't. You expect hardwood floors to be hard, not warping. And walls solid, not full of holes. And not the ceiling on the floor. It's your apartment still, but not yours at all.

"The guitars and keyboard looked as beautiful as ever, but I knew they were ruined. The Sample Tank -- ah, my love! -- destroyed."

Along with clothes and furniture and the countless, often unnoticed objects that make a home, Jason lost all the music he'd composed, a catalog of lyrics to more than 60 of his songs, original plays, sound effects, and all his instruments: A shortlist: accoustic and electric guitars, Peavey amplifier, violin, bongos, harmonicas, Stennheiser Mics, and more.

"It would be safe to say my life's theater work."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Conservatives cry, “Turnabout is fair gay!”

Will Three See Eight’s Fate?

On Monday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m., Moxie Theatre hosts "After the Fire -- A Benefit Jam for Jason Connors and Gwen Fish." They lost everything in the recent Hillcrest fire.

On July 1, Jason gave his landlord 30 days notice. He and his girlfriend, Emily Merchant, wanted their first home together. The lease on his current apartment, at 1033 University Avenue, only permitted a single occupant.

Around 3:10 on Wednesday, Jason was on his way to inspect a possible rental. As he drove past 1033, a friend riding with him saw smoke coming from the roof.

Jason pulled over. "There were no fire trucks then, just some onlookers. And smoke getting blacker and blacker." For the next two and a half hours, Jason watched as flames and crowds and noises grew. Fire trucks charged in. Police erected barricades. Lights blinked. TV trucks, with familiar logos, arrived soon after.

Jason watched the fire go out in one location and flare up in another. Then puffs of smoke arose from his third floor window.

"A flame started where my closet would be: all the memorabilia of my dad [who died two years ago], letters, his old LP records probably melting, pictures of us when I was a little boy."

He watched a fireman hack a hole in the wall of his apartment. Another brought a hose on a hydraulic lift. Water shot through the opening. The torrent wouldn't stop.

"That's when it became real for me: water power-blasting my home. That was my rude awakening."

A second came when he had to phone Emily. She was teaching English as a Second Language in Suzhou, China.

"I've got to tell you something," he said. "It's serious. Nobody died. And I didn't do it. The apartment caught fire. It looks bad.

"At first she thought I was pulling her leg. It took time to sink in."

Emily returns from China this Saturday. Jason hopes to have the new apartment as ready as possible.

He's a Resident Artist at Cygnet Theatre (the night of the fire, he performed in Our Town: "the show went on"). He's an actor, sound designer, composer, playwright, and director. The fire destroyed his instruments of creativity.

On Saturday morning he was allowed back into the building. Tenants went in one at a time. Most stayed about five minutes and left. As he walked down halls of bubbling wallpaper, Jason began to feel dizzy. He saw "skeletons of rooms; no way they could have retrieved anything."

He saw comparatively little soot or charring. The room was just soaked through. His prized Yamaha S80 keyboard looked clean, as did his desk and laptop computers (and his expensive, Sample Tank program that can replicate every musical instrument). Maybe his library of sound effects -- hundreds, accumulated over the years -- withstood the havoc? He peered closer.

"I thought I was prepared, but wasn't. You expect hardwood floors to be hard, not warping. And walls solid, not full of holes. And not the ceiling on the floor. It's your apartment still, but not yours at all.

"The guitars and keyboard looked as beautiful as ever, but I knew they were ruined. The Sample Tank -- ah, my love! -- destroyed."

Along with clothes and furniture and the countless, often unnoticed objects that make a home, Jason lost all the music he'd composed, a catalog of lyrics to more than 60 of his songs, original plays, sound effects, and all his instruments: A shortlist: accoustic and electric guitars, Peavey amplifier, violin, bongos, harmonicas, Stennheiser Mics, and more.

"It would be safe to say my life's theater work."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Firebug or amateur firefighter?

Suspected arsonist says he was trying to put out flames with dirt
Next Article

Pine Valley girl recalls the 1970 Laguna fire

Red sky
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader