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“Fortunately nobody was in the building when the fire began, nobody was injured,” Club management said in a Sunday email. “While the kitchen saw significant damage, the building as a whole remains intact.”
The Pasadena Fire Dept. was called to the scene at 1:05 a.m. Saturday. The fire had started in the Club’s kitchen and extended into the attic.
The Department committed six engines, two trucks, two rescue ambulances, and one air utility to the incident. Pasadena police, the City’s Water and Power Dept., and Southern California Gas crews also responded, according to City spokesperson Lisa Derderian.
The fire was knocked down by 1:40 a.m., 35 minutes after first reported.
Derderian said that Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin and the Club’s long-time General Manager Cyrus Afshin arrived at the scene during the blaze.
Photos taken after the fire show holes punched into the Club’s roof and a blackened kitchen filled with wrecked kitchen equipment.
“While we are still evaluating the situation, we fully expect to repair the damage done and return to ‘business as usual,’” the Club’s email said. “To expedite this process, and to protect the safety of guests, we will be closed while we clean, repair, and determine how to operate as best we can during that process. Currently, we are working with experts to determine what level of service we’ll be able to offer when, and how to do so safely.”
Pasadena officials said the City will do what it can to assist with the rebuilding process.
“The kitchen is a total loss and there is smoke damage throughout the building,” Derderian said. “The City will work with them to help any way we can with the process to rebuild as soon as possible. They are a true landmark in our City.”
Echoing the City’s commitment, Mayor Victor Gordo, who described the University Club as an iconic building that is a center of cultural life in Pasadena, expressed concern for the plight of the workers impacted by the Club’s closure.
“In particular, we should be very supportive of the staff who worked very hard every day and whose daily earnings will surely be affected,” Gordo said.
Gordo said he had met with Club staff members and “saw the strain on their faces,” and that the City “will do all it can.”
Club management said in its email that it is currently working with experts to determine what level of service they can offer when they reopen, and how to do so safely.
“We deeply regret any disruption to plans for members or those who have upcoming events,” the email read. “We’ll be reaching out to anyone with events currently scheduled to discuss, and welcome inquiries at cyrusafshin@universityclubpasadena.com and sandimejia@universityclubpasadena.com.”
“We are tremendously thankful to the Pasadena Fire Department for their expert response, and our spirits have been lifted by the outpouring of support from the city, community, and our amazing neighbors,” the email said.
The University Club of Pasadena has played a significant role in Pasadena’s history as a nexus for professional, academic, and social life in the community since 1922. It was started by Howard W. Carter for university-educated men in the Hotel Green and moved to its current location in 1926. Women were welcomed as full members in 1986-87, and in 2019, the University Club of Pasadena Education Foundation was formed to support students in higher education.
“While this is certainly a hurdle, we will move forward, and our 100+ year history in Pasadena will continue.”
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