The Grunt escapes with his life.

Actually I wrote that just to be melodramatic. Someitme before 6pm this evening I walked into Cosmic Comics. After getting buzzed in I walked the hallway to the stairs when a young man rushed passed rapidly speaking on his cellphone. Two words that I heard were "fire" and "basement". Then I smelled a distinct aroma reminescent of sitting by the roaring fireplace when I was a child. Then I realized "That's not something you want to smell in a building."

I was considering what to do next when another young man who was a customer of Cosmic Comics walked past me. We both agreed that we smelled smoke and I suggested that we should alert the staff of Cosmic Comics. He said he had already had informed them of the situation and they blew him off.

So following the law of self preservation, I left and several minutes later the FDNY showed up. And me without my camera phone.