The Pompton Lakes Acme burned to the ground on October 27, 1997. Ten other businesses were also destroyed. Light fixtures in the Acme were to blame for the start off the fire which ignited the wood trusses in the arched roof. The fire spread quickly throughout the roof of the 40 year old strip mall due to it's outdated design and lack of fire walls.
The photos in this post were provided courtesy of Rob Ascough but the source of each photo is unknown at this time.
Despite the night time sky and dark parking lot, this picture was taken early in the day as the Acme roof collapsed.
A devastating end to what appears to have been a rather unique Acme. Certainly a one-of-a-kind sign which was built into the building rather than being out at the street.
The employees mentioned in this article who were accused of not calling the fire department in a timely manner filed defamation charges against Fire Chief Albert Evangelista. The Fire Chief claimed the employees waited 58 minutes to call 911 for help. According to the lawsuit, fire trucks were on the scene approximately 20 minutes after the fire was discovered. You can read the verdict and details of the lawsuit by clicking here.
The Klugetown Center was replaced with the Pompton Lakes Town Square as seen above. A gigantic A&P rose from the ashes... now an A&P Fresh... built much further back from the road than where the Acme was located. Interesting how A&P incorporated the angled, staggered loading dock style that is commonly seen in ShopRites.
UPDATE 2.25.10: Check out this cool picture of the Pompton Lakes Acme with the script logo still on the front! It's off in the distance but look closely and you will see it.
