Neighbor Uses Garden Hose to Stop Hidden Cafe Fire

The former Hidden Cafe n the Palisades Highlands caught on fire last Thursday evening, but thanks to quick action by nearby residents Jamie and Clayton Bland, the blaze was quickly contained and damage to the restaurant and building was minimal. Highlands resident Carmel Kadrnka e-mailed a first-person account to the Palisadian-Post:, writing: ‘We were driving home up Palisades Drive at 8 p.m., when we noticed a fire in the back area of the old Hidden Caf’. We turned the car around to take a closer look, and found the glass had blown out of the window, and flames were shooting out. ‘A Highlands resident, Clayton Bland, had apparently seen the same thing, and was there, trying to splash water in the broken window. His wife ran up to one of the townhomes across the street and grabbed a garden hose, which she threw to her husband. He then hooked up the hose to a water outlet and sprayed water through the window. ‘Unbelievably enough, there were virtually no more flames when the Fire Department came. I can’t imagine what would have happened if that husband and wife team didn’t act so quickly and take care of business!’ Friday, the Blands explained the role they played. They had just put their one- and four-year-olds to bed, and Clayton was going into town to have a beer with a friend. He pulled out of his driveway, which is almost across the street from the Hidden Caf’ building, and saw flames in the window. He called his wife to tell her what he had seen, then ‘I put the car in reverse and went back to take a closer look. The window popped and I called 911.’ Bland tried to fill some empty clay pots with water to throw on the fire, but ‘it kept draining out, so when my wife came over, I told her to get a hose.’ Jamie ran across Palisades Drive to their garage, grabbed a garden hose and ran it back to her husband. He hooked it to the spigot outside and started spraying the inside of the restaurant through the broken window. ‘It wasn’t that big of a fire,’ Clayton said. ‘By the time I got it out, the fire trucks had arrived.’ One of the firemen paid him the ultimate compliment: ‘It looks like you have things under control here.’ Ironically, at the time of Bland’s 911 call, firefighters from Palisades Fire Stations 23 and 69 were receiving special recognition from Councilman Bill Rosendahl at the Community Council meeting for their efforts in fighting the January blaze on Michael Lane, also in the Highlands. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Wally Miller, who owns the Highlands Village building, said that thanks to the Blands’ quick action, only one wall suffered fire damage and just one window needs to be replaced. ‘It was a wonderful thing for them to do,’ Miller said. The space is currently undergoing a remodel before reopening in April or May as an Italian restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. The owner, Paolo Marazzi, told Clayton that he wants to treat him and his family to a dinner when the restaurant opens.