L : I L L COO K M AZD Business BILL COOK MAZDA 1999 626 ES "LEATHER EDITION" 39 MO. LEASE azvw 31000 11 1 = BILL COOK MAZDA BILL COOK MAZDA Fire Doesn't Slow Franklin Racquet Club I LL COO K MAZ D MO. $899 due at signing Automatic, air, AM/FM CD, woodgrain leather, power windows/locks/mirrors, keyless entry 1999 PROTEGE LX 4 0 4 2 0 0 .11 $211 7 M0. Automatic, air, keyless entry, power windows/locks/mirrors, cruise & more! $868 due at signing CIZVIN 311 003 1 11 = = I LL COO K M AZD 36 MO. LEASE ALAN ABRAMS Special to The Jewish News • $1,699 due at signing 03 • Ir. Loaded! V-6, anti-lock brakes, leather, sunroof, auto climate control, stereo/cass/CD, air, full power & MORE. leases plus tax, title. plates & DOC fees. 0.9% to qualified buyers. Cannot be combined r 0 0 0 with dealer or customer rebates. Subject to credit approval. Offer ends 1/29/99. jr Mon. :‘,T,tIlitiert 9-9 (248) 471-0800 Fri. 9-6 pm All 37911 GRAND RIVER (west of Halsted) • FARMINGTON HILLS • www.billcookauto.com BILL COOK MAZDA BILL COOK MAZDA The Life & Death Drama of Leopold & Loeb BILL COOK MAZDA By John Logan Outer Critics Circle Award Winner - Best Broadway Play of 1998 Now thru March 7 JCC • Aaron DeRoy Theatre 6600 West Maple Rd • West Bloomfield (248) 788-2900 http://comnet.org/jet 0 1/29 1999 104 Detroit Jewish News Student • Senior • Group Discounts Available s ick Brode will long remember how he found out about the fire last Friday (Jan. 22) at his Franklin Fitness and Racquet Club. "I had just got up. It was 6:30 a.m., and I had my New York Times and was drinking coffee when I did something I usually never do — I turned on the TV," recalled Brode. After 10 minutes of watching the Channel 62 Fox morning newscast, the screen showed "my worst night- mare come true." It was a live shot from the parking lot of the Southfield club, with a news crew reporting on the fire. "There were a million lights at the scene and fire trucks. My heart almost jumped out," said Brode. "I settled myself down and ran over there. And I found out what was hap- pening from the Southfield fire mar- shal," said Brode. Brode learned the fire had started in the second floor nail salon above the complex's Dorian Beauty Shop. The store is at the east (Franklin Road) end of the complex. According to Southfield Fire Marshal Randall Fryfogle, the fire was caused by a wax warming machine in the nail salon that had not been shut off. Fryfogle was unable to provide a damage estimate Monday because of the combination of structural damage to the nail salon and smoke damage to the health club. Brode had not obtained a damage estimate from insurance adjusters by Monday after- noon. Brode said actual damage in the health club was restricted to the entrance lobby of the Kidsports area. "The gymnasium, day care and party room at Kidsports are all intact," he said. The Dorian Beauty Shop is also intact, although the lobby was flood- ed. "But the nail salon is gone. It was above the beauty shop as an annex. A little part of roof there caved in," said Brode. The fire broke out after the club opened at 5:30 a.m. Everyone was safely evacuated, although Brode said some club members "were standing around asking if they could take a shower first. But our staff emphasized the danger, and asked them to please evacuate the building, although the fire was at the other end of the build- ing. "But we're open," said Brode on Saturday, as he prepared for a bar mitzvah party at the club that night. "We called in the service that blows out smoke after fires. We were very fortunate that it was isolated and con- tained," said Brode. The club • `Ja'Z''' 0 F mk cov „ 0.0 Awl The second floor of the nail salon su Bred the most damage. reopened for business at 5:30 a.m. Saturday." The news of the fire was a shock for Kathie and Jeffrey Schwartz of West Bloomfield. They had booked the bar mitzvah party for their son, Evan, at Franklin for 4 p.m. Saturday. "I was sick as a dog when I heard about the fire," recalled Mrs. Schwartz on Monday. "I told my husband I was out of control." After she was called about the fire at 8:30 Friday morning by an employ- --=; ee of the club, Mrs. Schwartz immedi- ately started looking at hotels, temples and other venues to accomodate the party for 107 children and 156 adults. Mr. Schwartz checked out Franklin a few hours after the fire was brought under control. Although he was assured the party would go on, he was skeptical. However, by 1 p.m. N Saturday, there was only a trace of smoke remaining in the club, and by the time of the party, it was all gone, said Mrs. Schwartz. "They did a great job," said Mrs. Schwartz, "and the party was just great." At 250,000 square feet, Franklin is the largest health and fitness club in the metro Detroit area. The club was founded by Brode's father, Seymour, in 1969, and has more than 6,000 members. The International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association (IHRSA), ranks Franklin seventh in America in terms of gross receipts. cf\