TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! BLOG COMMUNITY EXPERTS BLAME DANGEROUS CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS FOR EPIC OVERLAND PARK INFERNO!!!
Better than mainstream media reporting our blog community is FIRST to lead the conversation about the cause of the Overland Park fire that took down a HUGE apartment building and more than dozen houses.
Let the blame game begin . . .
SPECIAL THANKS TO KICK-ASS TKC BLOG COMMUNITY CONSTRUCTION EXPERTS FOR INSIGHT INTO THE CAUSE OF THE BLAZE!!!
Here's an insider perspective and a warning . . .
"These tinderboxes are going up all over southern Johnson County, in fact a huge almost 100% wood framed hotel at 95th and I-35 is being built right now that will make this fire look like a single candle at one of the many worthless vigils so popular around this area if it ever gets to burning."
Even more deets and an informed call for political action in Johnson County . . .
"Wanna blame something? How about covering homes with cedar shake shingles that ignite and burn like paper soaked in gasoline, and the politicians that don't have brains or balls enough to permanently ban them?"
And so we learn that the Johnson County good life isn't so great and could burn quickly in the right conditions and given so many dangerous materials prevalent golden ghetto buildings.
Check the links . . .
KCTV5: Overland Park man saved from burning home by strangers
KWCH: 3 firefighters injured, 17 homes damaged by fire in Overland Park
Fox4KC: Families now homeless after flying hot embers set fire to more than a dozen Overland Park houses
KSHB: OP father finds home in flames
WDAF: Before smoke clears, Overland Park neighbors already banding together to help
NBC Action News: Neighbor rushes to help others during OP fire
Channel 4: Firefighters continue to douse hot spots as they prepare for investigators to arrive on the scene
You decide . . .
The second comment has more detail and calls out the materials. Can't really argue with it and there are other communities that have banned these kind of roofs in future construction.
ReplyDeleteTypical Joco, always looking to cut corners.
DeleteI understand the human element of this tragedy but the tv stations are almost following a formula and I tend to think that sticking the camera in the face of somebody who just lost their house is really productive.
DeleteWhat I liked is that some of the camera people and journalists were showing the embers landing more than 10 miles away. That is some scary sh*t and something that people need to know to protect themselves.
It's going to be a dry Summer and there will be more fires. Hope that we'll see more about prevention and what the hell to do if your place goes up in flames.
Wood framed residential construction is extremely common, even in multi-family applications. When properly protected as required by code, with fire resistant type "x" gypsum board, rated floor assemblies and unit seperations, fire stops, and operating sprinkler systems, the expectation of safety is similar to that of other construction types. In the case of this fire, the unfinished structure did not yet have many of these safety precautions installed. Once it got going and fed itself off of the fresh pine framing, the was little yet installed to stop its quick spread.
ReplyDeleteAs late as a few decades ago, not only were wood shake roofs completely allowed but they were REQUIRED in many Johnson County neighborhoods. Pressure, mostly from the insurance industry, and threats of entire neighborhoods being uninsurable finally ended almost all of the restrictive neighborhood covenants requiring shake roofs. They are still allowed in many areas, but homeowners face steeper insurance rates if they have them. They may look nice when new, but are extremely susceptible to the spread of fire. For homeowners who want the look of a wood shake roof, there are now many plastic and composite based products on the market that provide that look but without the inherent dangers of a wood roof.
ReplyDelete7:57, charred basements the remnants of a fire that was supposed to have all the so called fire blocking elements you claim are so great makes your theory not to be fact.
ReplyDeleteA lot of construction now days is wood made from chips and glue that will burn like a mother once they get going. Older homes that have real kiln dried wood in them take longer to burn.
It's a fact if that huge ass 3 story pile of wood gets going at 95th and I-35 it will be all over before they can get enough pumpers there to put it out.
8:13, the code required fire resistive elements I speak of are required for MULTI-FAMILY wood structures, such as apartments and hotels. For the most part, single family residential structures are only required to have these protective elements between the garage and the remainder of the structure. Since the fire at City Place yesterday struck an UNFINISHED building without most of these elements installed, I'm not sure how this speaks in any way to the effectiveness of current resistive requirements.
ReplyDeleteAs to your comment about "wood chips and glue", you are correct that modern sheathing (referred to as OSB) is nothing more than particles and binder, but the use of OSB for wall and roof sheathing has been common practice for over 40 years. To find homes with the exclusive use of plywood instead of engineered wood products, you'd have to go back at least 50 years. Additionally, the binders used in engineered wood products are primarily fire resistive and tests show that they have a lower FSR (flame spread rating) than many traditional plywood products.
... or we can just go with you arm-chair knowledge of construction and codes, obviously developed from a long history of watching HGTV.
All the so called investigators will put on a show like they are doing something but the fact remains unless someone started the fire and was seen by others doing so and then confesses to doing so they will never figure out what happened. To much fire and to much evidence either burned up or altered with to be useful in any court of law. Flying embers started all the other fires any fool could see what was going on there. Conditions yesterday afternoon were prime for an event such as this to take place and that was the major catalyst for this fire. Don't believe me, then I ask that Super Dave or any other firefighter weighs in and confirms what I am saying here.
ReplyDeleteSure 8:35 we all saw yesterday all those so called FSR woods burning like they were covered in gasoline.
ReplyDelete8:13 also said older homes Einstien and I agree with 8:13 more than I agree with what you say.
Send the developers to JAIL. Send to jail the city council and Mayor that allowed such rabbit hutches to be built of wood rather than meal framing.
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know what "worthless vigils" are?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete"Experts" in the "blog community"??
BWAHAHAHAHAHA
8:35 +++++++
ReplyDelete8:45, there's no such thing as "FSR woods", the FSR (flame spread rating) is the method by which most building products, including what you would call "traditional" wood products, are rated according to their fire resistance. The fact that you don't understand the difference between what a product is and how it's rated makes further discussion pointless. Enjoy your day, arm-chair cowboy, and don't forget to DVR today's episode or Flip or Flop, I'm sure they'll be plenty of random facts to be garnered that you can later pretend to speak about with authority.
ReplyDelete8:49, very few cities have the resources to develop their own building codes, thus they rely on the national IRC (International Residential Code) and IBC (International Building Code) to define their standards. These are volumes comprising thousands of pages, and are continually refined based upon latest best practice and current information. While it's easy to say it's the City's fault for allowing a type of construction, they rely on the hundreds of organizations who contribute to the codes, and by and large, these codes are developed and refined based upon the latest life safety and scientific information allowable.
All metal construction wouldn't have stopped the fire either. It is more resistant construction, but would be a total loss either way. The reason for fire separation walls in multi-family isn't to save one side or the other, its to permit occupants to escape before total failure.
ReplyDelete@ 9:32 - The next (worthless) Mayor of Overland Park.
ReplyDeleteWhenever there's an event locally that is of such proportion that all four of our local TV stations go to continuous live coverage we see and hear that when faced with live reporting as the story is unfolding their news readers (anchors) and so called "reporters" are unable to put two complete coherent sentences together without constantly repeating themselves. That is surpassed only by our crackerjack weather blabbers.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that grinds my gears about local news is why on Gods green earth do they do live remotes from the scene @ 4;30 or 5:00 in the morning and their "reporters" always say without fail is "As you can see behind me..." BULLSHIT!!!!! IT'S FUCKING DARK YOU MORON WE CAN'T SEE A GODDAMNED THING. Royalettes, Chefs, Spitting K.C. story??? Let's put them in a dark stadium parking lot at 5:00 in the morning. Who they gonna' interview, the janitors? Idiots.
This isn't a wood frame issue. It will end up being a construction accident that started the fire. In an open structure like this, fire science tell us that from the point the flame starts, it will grow by a factor of 800 times its size in 3 minutes. That's a staggering number, but true.
ReplyDeleteAs for the adjacent houses that burned, cedar shakes come from the factory with fire retardant layered in them. After about 5-10 years its effectiveness has been worn away by weather. They can be resprayed, but no one in this area ever does it.
and so let the lawyers start counting their money. Having worked in the construction industry for 25 years and the insurance industry for 10 years, the lawyers are licking their chops if the facts are available or not. Insurance companies are cash cows for lawyers.
ReplyDeleteAre these the same "experts" that "solved" the "murder" of Toni Morrison?
ReplyDelete"ha ha ha"
1057, spot on. I would only add the bimbo reporters who ask the people who just lost their homes "What are your feelings right now?"
ReplyDeleteSad fer burnt O.P. famlies and injerd firepeeps. Dis mighta be dat rite ta werk scab-a-dabs foreshadowin' fer Mizzoury. Ya ever seen dem mangled, tapey extenshun cords, dull saw blades makun giant plumeza hot sawdusts, and dem scabs mades ta rush gots hot drills and nailgunz? Whut 'bout sum crum sneaked a smoke n drop it or dinnut stomp out all da ashus!
ReplyDelete10:57: +1. At least Channel 41 didn't preempt the national news. Kudos to them for that, but, really, what more is there to say but a really huge fire is burning in OP. Now for other news and weather... .
ReplyDelete2:58--- That's true but 41 came on the air with it @ 3.54 and interrupted Final Jeopardy just so christa and Gary gayzak could get some face time like 6 minutes would have made a difference and continued to give us one of the worst examples of a news anchor when it comes to live coverage of anything Christa Dubilll. She along with 5's Carolyn Long and 8's Donna Pittman are excellent examples. If those three cunts didn't have pussies and tits they'd have a bounty on them.
ReplyDelete