hhusted

Roof Building Fires

I don't know if you saw the news today, but on NY1 there was a report about a building in the East Village that had a fire develop on the roof.

You can read about it here:

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/121786/large-fire-damages-east-village-building

Fire officials said the building was unoccupied, despite its being used for commercial and residential purposes.

This still raises a concern. How safe is your building? Is your building, especially the roof a fire trap?

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JenMac Jul 11, 2010

There was a fire in a building about 1/ 2 block away from mine last week. Its so sad. It very quickly reminded me that my renters insurance needed to be renewed. . . . nothing like a tragedy to make me think of myself :)

Uraniumfish Jul 11, 2010

Is it because people leave things on the roof? One roof on the LES I was on recently had a sign for people not to leave metal bottle tops up there because the sun would bake them into the tar, and that would cause fires. Of course the whole roof was full of these bottle tops baked into the tar, so clearly not many people read the sign.

DBlack Jul 11, 2010

I bet it is all the stuff people leave on roofs, especially with everyone hanging out up there every chance they get during the summer.

ajadedidealist Jul 12, 2010

Ugh - I hate when people disregard signs like that. It's like - they're there for a reason, people! People can be so thoughtless sometimes! I sure sound like someone's grandmother, there.

hhusted Jul 15, 2010

@Everybody: According to the latest investigation, it appears that improper wiring was used to connect something on the roof, and that is what created the fire.

Uraniumfish Jul 16, 2010

@ajadeidealist You do sound like someone's grandmother, but people really are thoughtless and cause such unnecessary damage if only they would be a bit more respectful and follow signs that someone obviously took a lot of trouble to put up.

NeverSleeps Jul 18, 2010

I think the strain on the power grid produces more electrical fires - my landlord told me there was an electrical pole fire only a few blocks from my house down in the Slope. http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/queens/fdny-battles-fires-amid-heat-wave-20100707-akd At least that heat wave seems to be over. For the moment.

ajadedidealist Jul 18, 2010

Thank goodness, @neversleeps! After so many days of English rain, I never thought I'd be glad for the sun to take a bit of a breather behind the clouds