From the Connecticut Post:The two firefighters were killed in what was supposed to be a routine house fire. Fellow firefighters have speculated that they may have run out of oxygen while checking for fire remnants on the third floor.
Smoke inhalation has been ruled the cause of death for the 49-year-old Baik. The state medical examiner's office also determined he had coronary artery disease that contributed to his death. A preliminary autopsy on the 40-year-old Velasquez was inconclusive, so more tests will be conducted.
The third-floor apartment where they lost their lives was not a certified living space and had likely not been inspected by fire officials in many years, because no permits were ever issued to convert the structure to a three-family house.
Records at both the city's Building Department and Tax Assessor's Office show the three-story structure at 39-41 Elmwood Ave. was built as a two-family house in 1909.
23 comments:
Sad Story...
Would it make anyone feel any better if they had died in a "legally converted" house?
I do wonder though how anybody ever survived in 3 story houses before government inspectors came along to make the world livable?
Oh, that's right, back then people actually understood they had to think about their lives and surroundings before they closed their eyes...
You are missing the point completely. If you put partitions in a home without regard to means of egress, etc. you are creating a death trap. This includes a death trap for firefighters.
Why would a "thinking" individual put himself into a death trap or not allow for "egress"?
Thinking cannot be legislated.
Think!! People.
Because they are ignorant of the laws, think the cheap rent is worth it, or its their job to go into a fire to rescue people.
Crapper, only the last option you postulate is acceptable to me.
God rest them and keep them. So far as the relevance of the legality of the conversion, well when it is done illegally there may be electrical problems, problems with egress from the units etc that occurred precisely because no engineer looked over the plans.
Hey John from Conn - why don't you asked the family of the firefighters who died, you idiot!
Hey John from Conn - why don't you asked the family of the firefighters who died, you idiot!
"Oh, that's right, back then people actually understood they had to think about their lives and surroundings before they closed their eyes..."
People have not really changed much - remember reading about the Triangle Shirt Waist fire wherein workers were locked into their "surroundings" so they couldn't leave their posts.
There are some people unforunately in our society who put money in higer regard than people - AND there are people who go along with them because they cannot afford not to.
As George Burns said - "As a child, I lived on the lower East Side - there were 13 of us in a one-bedroom apartment. We all slept on the floor - today we call it child abuse".
So it's not that ALL our country's past immigrants were too stupid to understand danger - they were too poor and took chances.
ALERT..ALERT
Connecticut limousine liberal sighted.
My sympathies to the families of the fallen firefighters.
Moving in the direction of a solution: Report illegally occupied or altered or partitioned interiors that could trap residents escaping a fire and prevent or endanger firefighters rescuing residents. Call your nearest Fire house to inform them of illegally converted residences, Call the DOB and call the Police Dept if there is a business being run in an apartment that has clients coming and going 24 x 7.
remember reading about the Triangle Shirt Waist fire...
Yes, as a result of the tragedy the American people stepped up immediately and learned of the dangers of the new skyscrapers...Miraculously, they did this without the help of a Nanny State...The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) was privately founded on October 14, 1911, it is the oldest professional safety organization committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental (SH&E) professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on occupational safety and health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries...
We also learned from another tragedy at around the same time. That before we board one of those new luxury liners maybe we should check and see if the greedy ship owners put enough life boats on the ship to account for the amount of people on board...Government is not the best answer to making people safer. Thinking brains are what make people safe...
AND there are people who go along with them because they cannot afford not to...
Having less money than someone is no excuse for such stupidity...It costs nothing to pay attention.
remember this is a" sanctuary city on the sound", and it is not illegal to be illegal in a cellar conversion dwelling.
all you have to tell the n.y.f.d. is "NO HABLA INGLES"
thank you liberal democrats,obama,e.holder (d.o.(in)justice,Arizona liberal democrat judge susan bolton(appointed by the impeached democrat,bubba clinton.
is not liberal democrat dictatorship grand?
John from Conn said...
I do wonder though how anybody ever survived in 3 story houses before government inspectors came along to make the world livable?
Oh, that's right, back then people actually understood they had to think about their lives and surroundings before they closed their eyes..."
Typical ignorant ideological tripe from an ignorant small-town chipmunk.
I'll not waste too mush time on this. What happened here was exactly the opposite of what you claim.
As usual you have it ass backwards.
It was the lack of government intervention via housing inspection that contributed to this tragedy.
The owner counted on the likelihood that he could get away with sectioning that century old fire trap and not get caught.
He was right.
Anonymous said...
remember this is a" sanctuary city on the sound", and it is not illegal to be illegal in a cellar conversion dwelling.
all you have to tell the n.y.f.d. is "NO HABLA INGLES"
thank you liberal democrats,obama,e.holder (d.o.(in)justice,Arizona liberal democrat judge susan bolton(appointed by the impeached democrat,bubba clinton.
is not liberal democrat dictatorship grand?"
---Your senility is showing again.
I thought that the Fire Dept unions were powerful and could press cities into making the working conditions better;shut down illegally converted houses and apt buildings. Why arent their unions pushing this issue for the firefighters safety?
"Moving in the direction of a solution: Report illegally occupied or altered or partitioned interiors that could trap residents escaping a fire and prevent or endanger firefighters rescuing residents."
That's only going to work if your neighbors are not all doing that same thing.
The homes that have converted illegally are in nabs that cater to newly arrived immigrants and/or lower income residents so they would be the least likely to report conversions.
Lino said...
The owner counted on the likelihood that he could get away with sectioning that century old fire trap and not get caught.
He was right.
No he was wrong, he will hopefully end up in jail for a long time and pay plenty of damages...
The owner of the house was wrong and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The point is, which again you immoral Libs always miss is...The best way to prevent these problems is for "individuals" to learn to take responsibility for themselves and start to think again instead of falsely believing others will always be there to look out for you all the time...or say I just can't "I am a victim"...blah blah...
Just like with agencies like the SEC...With geniuses like Lino and Babs that have been around for 75 years that are supposed to protect "the little guy" from Financial Malfeasance. But, as usual they couldn't catch a cold. It took someone with skin in the game..."with a brain" to spot Madoff's scam. But, the bureaucrats didn't listen to the whistle blower all those years.
"Nanny State" government will never be the answer in a Free Society. It only creates mindless drones that allow themselves to be scammed or killed.
liberal/democrat dictatorship control of sanctuary cities
will hold the first responders at a fire in violation if any immigration status questioning is conducted .
even though the federal law does not permit illegal aliens in the U.S.A.,liberal democrat politicians do not care about the citizens who pay their salaries.
that includes rino's,who actually are liberals.
IS NOT LIBERAL DEMOCRAT/RINO DICTATORSHIP GRAND?
John from Conn said..."No he was wrong, he will hopefully end up in jail for a long time and pay plenty of damages..."
--I guess I was a little too subtle for you here. Sorry.
"Just like with agencies like the SEC...With geniuses like Lino and Babs that have been around for 75 years that are supposed to protect "the little guy" from Financial Malfeasance. But, as usual they couldn't catch a cold. It took someone with skin in the game..."with a brain" to spot Madoff's scam. But, the bureaucrats didn't listen to the whistle blower all those years."
Boy, you really walked into a pile with that remark.
As bad as the Madoff scam was, do you really "think" that investors, even fairly sophisticated ones could untangle his deception when even federal regulators and even -his own employees- couldn't. That, and a fair number of sympathetic flag brothers in key positions let him survive a half dozen investigations.
The Madoff scandal pales to what your gop buddies (and stupid Clinton) perpetuated after the repeal of the Glass-Steagle Act in 1999. Their gross venality nearly collapsed our entire economy.
Folks, the remarks from types such a "John" are a typical product of years of cloistered small-town mentality, propagandizing and simple ignorance.
"Nanny state", "Obama care", "islamofacist: are some of the key indicators of chipmunk mentality.
BTW: Good luck up there in Ulster (if that is where you are)...you'll need it.
where is LINO'S list?
please explain the "VENONA PROJECT /INTERCEPTS,to us?
Anonymous said...
where is LINO'S list?
please explain the "VENONA PROJECT /INTERCEPTS,to us?"'
What "list"...as in Franz?
Senility rears it's ugly face. Sorry about the war, but that was sixty years ago. You do know that...right?
Post a Comment