Ferocious Six-Alarm Fire Destroys Condo Complex
Wake up and smell the coffee folks. Avalon has a sh$tty safety record. The Town was warned about using Avalon. A lot of people on this thread seem to be giving Avalon a total pass.
http://www.eastonmass.com/forum/uploaded/nyswede/20141121113113_AvalonBay-Fire-Record.pdf
http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/union-rep-warns-maplewood-pseg-site-developer-avalon-bay/
Exactly. If the report says that there were numerous fire or safety code violations then so be it.
But jumping to the conclusion that the fire was caused by Avalon's supposed poor record or the fact that the building is of wood-frame construction without any evidence is ridiculous and irresponsible.
yahooyahoo said:
Wake up and smell the coffee folks. Avalon has a sh$tty safety record. The Town was warned about using Avalon. A lot of people on this thread seem to be giving Avalon a total pass.
http://www.eastonmass.com/forum/uploaded/nyswede/20141121113113_AvalonBay-Fire-Record.pdf
http://archive.northjersey.com/news/public-safety/avalonbay-proposal-meets-with-criticism-in-edgewater-some-say-fire-safety-upgrades-don-t-go-far-enough-1.1655605
http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/union-rep-warns-maplewood-pseg-site-developer-avalon-bay/
And just how did the town "use" Avalon. It wasn't like there was any choice. It is, and was, private property where the owner is allowed to build as it pleases, as long as relevant codes and strictures are observed. Based on everything in the public domain, Avalon did MORE than was required.
I'm not giving them a pass, just wishing folks would take the blinders off, and WAIT to find out what actually happened. If there is Avalon culpability, go get 'em. If not, deal with the facts, not the hysteria.
ctrzaska said:
No no no. No. Much better to go off half-cocked and without a clue.
Did someone say half cocked? Sorry, couldn't resist an opening like that.
Various Maplewood Fire Videos. The intensity of it is terrifying.
https://www.statter911.com/2017/02/05/early-video-from-6-alarm-fire-at-new-jersey-apartment-complex-under-construction/
Okay, instead of use I'll say cooperate or work with.
The Town had a choice. They could have refused awarding a PILOT to the developer. The Town could have insisted on even more assurances and measures than they did to prevent such an event.
The Town of Maplewood had some leverage with Avalon and NJT.
Dennis_Seelbach said:
yahooyahoo said:
Wake up and smell the coffee folks. Avalon has a sh$tty safety record. The Town was warned about using Avalon. A lot of people on this thread seem to be giving Avalon a total pass.
http://www.eastonmass.com/forum/uploaded/nyswede/20141121113113_AvalonBay-Fire-Record.pdf
http://archive.northjersey.com/news/public-safety/avalonbay-proposal-meets-with-criticism-in-edgewater-some-say-fire-safety-upgrades-don-t-go-far-enough-1.1655605
http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/union-rep-warns-maplewood-pseg-site-developer-avalon-bay/
And just how did the town "use" Avalon. It wasn't like there was any choice. It is, and was, private property where the owner is allowed to build as it pleases, as long as relevant codes and strictures are observed. Based on everything in the public domain, Avalon did MORE than was required.
I'm not giving them a pass, just wishing folks would take the blinders off, and WAIT to find out what actually happened. If there is Avalon culpability, go get 'em. If not, deal with the facts, not the hysteria.
The goal is a safe structure when finished. It may or may not be, so I'll wait for the report, but no buildings are really safe before they are finished.
Avalon will rebuild Maplewood complex gutted by fire
"The fire undid about two years of construction at the site, officials said"
What a crock. Demolition on the site didn't even begin until late summer of 2015.
even the units that didnt burn must have some major smoke damage. i could imagine whatever resident was there just choking on that awful smell day after day
yahooyahoo said:
"The fire undid about two years of construction at the site, officials said"
What a crock. Demolition on the site didn't even begin until late summer of 2015.
Not really. By the time the investigation is done, insurance is settled and cleanup done, I'd be surprised if they haven't lost about two years.
So, do ".... the benefits to the Township accruing as a result of the [Avalon Bay] project [still] substantially outweigh the costs to the Township resulting from the long term tax exemption ..."?
http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/03032015-492?packet=true
Here is the link to the ordinance which also includes the full contract.
http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2147
The ASC commencement date is not until they get a certificate of occupancy. And then the ASC payment is based on profits only from the portion of the building covered by the certificate of occupancy. I hope the Town wasn't counting on any significant payment in 2017.
I think there is a trend here. I hope someone is investigating the fires collectively. My guess is the insurance company will not be eager to pay.
yahooyahoo said:
I think there is a trend here. I hope someone is investigating the fires collectively. My guess is the insurance company will not be eager to pay.
Yes, to my knowledge this is the third major fire in perhaps 3 years.
This article was written after the Maplewood fire. It was the third major fire experienced by an Avalon development in Northern New Jersey.
older buildings seem to be constructed so fire has a chance to be contained to a small area. newer construction techniques seem to facilitate spreading fire. It may be that modern construction code is at fault for these massive fires. whereas in the past there would be fires, but they were more likely to be contained.
I've heard high rises in NY were built to not burn down when there is a fire...
I may have a chance to move into one of these luxury apartments under affordable housing, but I would rather stay where I am in an older building without my own HVAC and other amenities...safety is more important to me than luxury.
I've also heard that sound can be bad due to modern construction ..worse than in older buildings...
There's no way I would ever move into a 5-story wooden structure.
These buildings are going up all over the place. What is it about Avalon that they have had so many fires?
Red_Barchetta said:
These buildings are going up all over the place. What is it about Avalon that they have had so many fires?
The million dollar question. Their insurance company probably is asking the same thing.
The advance of the mid-rise stick building has come with less fanfare, and left local officials and even some in the building industry surprised and unsettled. “It’s a plague, and it happened when no one was watching,” says Steven Zirinsky, building code committee co-chairman for the New York City chapter of the American Institute of Architects. What caught his attention was a blaze that broke out in January 2015 at the Avalon apartments in Edgewater, N.J., across the Hudson River from his home. “When I could read a book in my apartment by the flame of that fire,” he says, “I knew there was a problem.” Ignited by a maintenance worker’s torch, the fire spread through concealed spaces in the floors and attic of the four-story complex, abetted by a partial sprinkler system that didn’t cover those areas. No one died, but the building was destroyed.
There haven’t been many such fires in completed stick mid-rises, but the buildings have proved highly flammable before the sprinklers and walls go in. Dozens of major fires have broken out at mid-rise construction sites over the past five years. Of the 13 U.S. blazes that resulted in damages of $20 million or more in 2017, according to the National Fire Protection Association, six were at wood-frame apartment buildings under construction.
To clarify one thing -- those properties are apartments, not condos.