Great Moments in WFMU History #24

Burnt Orange - by Ken Freedman & Liz Berg

In 1998, a few years after Upsala College went completely bankrupt, closed its doors, and abandoned the East Orange, NJ campus, WFMU was on the brink of a move to its new home in Jersey City. During the final program on the final night of the last-ever WFMU fundraising Marathon held in the station’s Springdale Ave house next to the campus, a gratifying farewell symbol presented itself. The empty Upsala Business Office, a site of countless financial battles between the station and college administration, burst into flames and burnt to the ground. DJ Frank Balesteri (aka The Vanilla Bean) grabbed volunteer Phil Catalano’s cell phone, galloped toward the blazing inferno, and called in to the on-air line to give a play-by-play of the mayhem, even managing to interview a firefighter.

Art by Aaron Zimmerman

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Upsala management's karma came to a full head that night, crashing and burning as we always knew it would. And it was so sweet!!