Archive for Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Other questions
June 26, 2007
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To the editor:
The Journal-World quite correctly defended the Lawrence firefighters' performance in the Boardwalk Apartments fire. The June 25 editorial ended by stating: "The crux of the matter is that a young man started a fire that had devastating effects. From the look of things, the onus should be on the perpetrator."
It seems to me there are other cruces that have gotten little if any mention in the discussion. Why were there no fire escapes on this three-story structure, or a sprinkler system? Grandfathered in - in this case out - you say. I wonder how the people forced to jump from the upper stories of a building going up like a tinderbox feel about a "grandfather" who shows such callous disregard for their safety? And finally the question of codes, building materials and techniques that allowed a building to go from a lit match on a balcony to a general conflagration so quickly.
It seems there are plenty of onuses to go around.
Philip Kimball,
Lawrence
More like this
- Firefighters 24 comments / June 25, 2007
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26 June 2007
at 8:17 a.m.
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TheYetiSpeaks (Anonymous) says…
I agree. There has not been nearly enough questions directed at the operators of the Boardwalk Apts. And where are the Fire Inspectors? I would love to hear their thoughts on the Flammable..er… Boardwalk Apts.
26 June 2007
at 10:45 a.m.
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DaveR (Anonymous) says…
It could have been someone smoking in bed.
It could have been a grease fire in the kitchen.
It could have been an untended iron.
It could have been a child playing with matches.
It could have been overloaded, inadequate wiring, leading to fire. In January 1979 I was living in a house on Tennessee (not fair to give the address) that had such a fire due to inadequate wiring. The city told the landlady the amperage they wanted. She cheated & put in half that. While that was going on, we all lived elsewhere. Water froze inside the building.
What we need to know is that rental housing in Lawrence is safe, that the city has some sort of process where substandard structures are brought up to code & made safe. The Boardwalk fire suggests that present city policies are inadequate.
26 June 2007
at 11:30 a.m.
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Ragingbear (Anonymous) says…
Building and enforcement codes are beyond lax in Lawrence. The fire extinguishers at the College Hotel are completely non-functional and have been for years. I don't know why this type of stuff is allowed, but I suspect some abuse closer to the commissioners. But don't blame the fire department. Lawrence has a good fire department.