Saturday, January 24, 2015

Maybe the code should be changed


From WPIX:

Crews were still on the scene Friday morning putting out hot spots. The biggest obstacle to controlling the blaze was the building itself, made of lightweight wood construction.

“You have a lot of open voids, open spaces, fire spreading quickly through the walls and floors, leading to collapses. In fact, a complex built here by the same company of the same materials burnt to the ground in 2000, while still under construction,” Fire Chief Thomas Jacobson said.

The chief added that the inexpensive material, which is now commonly used in new construction, is up to code in New Jersey.


How many of these firetraps are in Queens?

13 comments:

JQ said...


BEFORE:

http://qloungemiami.com/wp-content/uploads/avalon-private-apartments.jpg

http://edgewaterharbornj.com/res.html

http://www.aptimg.com/review/ugc/images/nXuOKoFw1U4.jpg

http://www.avaloncommunities.com/~/media/Images/Community%20Photos/New%20York-%20New%20Jersey/New%20Jersey/Avalon%20at%20Edgewater/Heros_Thumbs/Edgewater_Hero.jpg


think about what has surfaced on by the waters of the boros of brooklyn(think about that one blocking the views of the skyline on that promenade in brooklyn heights),queens(L.I.C.)and now the bronx.

Also think about every picture ,artist rendering and article that came out in past 5 years touting hot neighborhoods,real estate interest,every post on this site and others and the pictures are not that different than edgewater.

think about that the fiends creating all this luxury development and how they were rewarded and now they are going to build supposed affordable housing for the poor.

think about what those incompetent morons working there who decided calling their boss to cover their ass than to call 911 and wonder about who worked on these luxury waterfront towers and prospective ones(Astoria Cove)and the rapidity in which they were and will be built.And if these are structurally sound.

it might be safer living in a basement

it might be safer living away from ny and nj

and there seems to be a fire in Christie's jersey every night on PIX

r185 said...

The short answer - These are EVERYWHERE.

Anonymous said...

Yay for the future of wood skyscrapers

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/science/appeal-of-timber-high-rises-widens.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

georgetheatheist said...

What's with all this "lightweight wood"? Particle board? Chipboard?Where does it go? Flooring? Walls? Roofing? I thought studs had to be metal. Just what IS lightweight wood?

Anonymous said...

Check out ALL Chinese construction companies buildings. They care little about the lives of people in China. Why should they care about life in the USA.

Lisa said...

Avalons Bay is also responsible for the demolition of Danvers State Hospital (now Halstead Danvers- they’re currently owned by another company), which was supposed to be historically protected. Apartments.com has lots of complaints about poor construction, bugs, and the overall incompetence of the company.

I do remember something about a fire happening at the site as well, possibly during construction, but I wasn’t able to find a good source online that mentioned it.

But this (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/edgewater-fire-leaves-homeless-tenants-distraught.html?_r=0) article has Avalons chief construction officer saying: “The community was built in accordance with the fire and safety codes applicable at the time,” Feigin said. “The purpose of those codes is not to prevent the building from burning down, but rather to ensure that there is sufficient time and opportunity for all occupants to exit safely in the event of a fire.”

I totally think it would be a good idea to have fire codes designed to prevent a building from burning down. Just my two cents.

Anonymous said...

Avalon and other similar residences are constructed like movie sets. my son rented one for a while and the quality of the building materials was sub-par. Wait for more deadly fires as these shoddy developments continue to be built.

Unknown said...

WHY? if people are that clueless to pay sky high rents for shoddy construction, and have no money left over to buy renters insurance.

Cant we just leave it to personal choice?

Avalons reputation will be ruined for years over this and their ability to get sky high rents will be a thing of the past.

Anonymous said...

All multifamily buildings being built in NYC are required to be non-combustible construction, and if 2 family the party walls are non combustible. I doubt anyone here is witnessing the new developments mentioned, other than single family houses being built strictly of wood frame construction, and if so simply call 311.

Anonymous said...

My daughter is living in one of their new apartment building in Irvine CA, one day the ceiling felled down.

Anonymous said...

I live in an Avalon building and during torrential rain, rain poured through the roof into my room and they refused to replace my things or my carpeting. Not surprised a company that is too cheap to replace a carpet is using cheap materials. They don't care about their tenants.

Anonymous said...

"All multifamily buildings being built in NYC are required to be non-combustible construction"

someone beat me to it. it's becoming exceedingly difficult to get approval for anything that has no rating.

if you're within 6' of a property line (i believe) everything needs to be rated. if you have more than one tenant you need rated separations. if you have 3 or more tenants you need to be non-combustible.

this kind of fire would never happen in NYC, because as much as DOB is (often) a disaster and a joke, they take fire protection very, very seriously.
-somethingstructural

Anonymous said...

Sure the workers called their boss - most were illegal and probably ran from the scene just like the do in 3rd world countries when an oil pipeline is about to explode.