Deadly apartment fire

[laundromat]

I lived in Houston almost two years. The apartment I had was o.k but there were some serious issues I spoke about in previous threads here. Yesterday(Sunday) I received a phone call around 3 AM Central Time from my previous neighbor,Cheryl. She was at the fire during the blaze where there were 2 different fire departments putting the fire out. The neighbor above and to the left of my previous apartment fell asleep in bed with a fucking lit cigarette which caused the deadly fire that killed him as well as the girl who lived next to him.Because there was NO FIRE WALL and NO INSOLATION between the upstairs and downstairs units,the entire building was destroyed and everybody there who servived the deadly blaze was homeless and lost everything!!Now I see why I am here now.

Saturday, I went into the "Valley" and did some serious hiking. I was on King's Trail and had to be taken down a treacherous trail via 4 wheel drive Jeep going only 10 MPH down a steep,narrow road.I was dropped off just off the trail and was told how to get to the beach as well as my friend's house.I was well prepared and took some photos. Breathtaking sites and the path I needed to take to get to my friend's house had 3 different rivers that I had to get across by foot. No bridges,just lots of fresh falling water from the snow that was melting off the peaks of at least 6 different mountains!I got to her house which is built in to the hill it rests on and looks just like a four story tree house!I went up the steep water fall about twenty yards from the house and climbed up three tears finding the line that supplies water from the falls to Maka'ala's house. She is one of my co-workers and invited me to her home as well as a fabulous twin birthday party lower in the valley.We had a blast and the folks I met were genuine and real friendly!I had already been drinking with Maka'ala and there were some home made "brownies" there which completely finished me and Maka'ala off. We stayed till around 11PM and took a 4 wheel cycle up the steep hill to her van.I got back home around midnight and crashed. Yesterday, I was in severe pain in my upper thy from all the hiking up hill but the view as well as the beach I visited (and I was the only human there)I will never forget. I will be returning there on Friday( as long as the muscles subside)with my boss who owns property there where there are wild horses and a tree fort made like a house in a huge tree!We'll stay there through sunday.Aloha!

 

[toggleswitch2]

Grandpa used to say:

"TO PTEPROMENON FUGEIN ADYNATON".
("One can not escape destiny/fate). WOW how lucky you are that you followed your gut and made the move.

He also used to say "FWTIA NA SAS KAPSEI" ("May fire burn you") during extreme anger and when others purposely tried to hurt him or his family because it is a heinous, awful painful way to go. I would cringe when he said that. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, ever. We can only hope the dearly dpearted were overcome by smoke and did not feel a thing.

May they rest in peace, and may their familes heal sooner rather than later.

And you young man, light a candle and say thanks that is it not yet your time! May G-d continue to bless!

Peace!

 

[frigilux]

....But don't let that lit candle sit unattended!!

I'm surprised more dorms/apartment buildings don't go up in flames. People do such stupid things, sometimes. And look at the price that's paid for it. Sickening.

My warehouse apt. was next door to a hardware/small engine repair shop. One night I awoke to choking fumes. A snowmobile which was brought in for repair had leaked fuel. It came through the walls! That was one reason I decided to look for a house.

 

[laundromat]

The place I live has no smokers(tobacco)living here and no candles other than for emergencies.We have solar as well as wind power supplied here and sometimes during a rain storm,the solar cuts out and we have to use regular electric. Rare but shit happens sometimes and you just have to deal with it. I am enjoying the winter here because the temp goes no lower than 60F.That just means I need a quilt over me at night or some warm,naked body would suffice.LOL-----Well,you know Dakota has been over a few times during those chilly nights and I had to take him up for the offer. I wasn't going to twist his arm to stay. maybe a couple other twistable parts but not his arm!!LOL.

 

[danemodsandy]

Grandfathering:

Many apartment buildings from the '50s, '60s and even '70s were built without fire walls, which was perfectly legal at the time. Such buildings have been "grandfathered", meaning that they have never been required to upgrade to current code standards. Since one interior wall looks very much like another, it takes a little detective work to find out if an apartment building has firewalls or not, but it's worth the effort. Atlanta has a tremendous amount of apartment housing stock that is grandfathered for lack of firewalls; our six o'clock news often has some heart-wrenching story about an entire building in an apartment complex going up in flames. I personally wish that grandfathering for code requirements had to be disclosed on a lease. Never happen.

 

[whirlcool]

One big problem in the Houston area is that a lot of apartments and townhomes built here don't have firestops in the common attics. When a fire starts the entire building is engulfed in flames rather quickly.
This winter seems to be worse than others, when I am home in the AM it is almost daily that I hear of some apartment or house fire somewhere in the city.
It seems that Southwest Houston has been burning the most though.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Here heat is genearally included in one's rent and is paid-for by the landlord.

This was probably to prevent each apartment from having a fire or two (fireplace or wood stove or unit-type gas heaters). Teh result was a serious reduction of fires and carbon-monoxide dangers.

One of the biggest factors here for apartment and building fires is portable electric heaters. Oftentimes bedding and other flammables get onto the grille and *POOF* we have igniton. If that doesn't do it, it's the high ampereage electrical draw/demand of such units in an ancient building. Tenants simly and dnagerously "upgrade" fuses to higher amerperages to prevent blown fuses. This, of course, defeats the purpose of keeping the wiring cool. Heat degrades their insulation. The wires then tend to short-out and cause fires that way.

My city has very severe penalties for failure to provide heat (when it is included in the rent). Most NYC apartments are WAY overheated to the point of waste and open windows year 'round. This prevents many other problems.

Some tenants come from very warm-climated places and refuse to wear sweaters or long trusers in winter. [T-shirts and shorts only]. They are simply not happy unless their apartment is a steam-bath. If these tenants are not supplementing the heat given with an electric heater they often run their gas ovens, polluting indoor air and dergrading its quality to the point of creating health issues, and good old-fashioned carbon-monoxide.

Nothing is sadder than an AVOIDABLE accident and/or fire.