THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH WATER TO FIGHT THE AVALON OF EDGEWATER FIRE. THE INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN UNDERSIZED FOR THE SIZE OF THE DEVELOPMENTS BUILT IN EDGEWATER
Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office arson squad says that
they are 100% certain that the fire was accidental. Perhaps, but there is Gross Negligence
involved in the Design, Sprinkler System Design, and Lack of Firefighting Water
Maintenance workers accidentally sparked the blaze that torched
an Edgewater apartment complex Wednesday and displaced more than 1,000 people,
officials said.
Gov. Chris Christie and local officials on Thursday night
confirmed that maintenance workers performing plumbing work with a blowtorch
started the fire.
After the fire started in the walls of a first floor
apartment, the workers called a supervisor before calling 911, Police Chief
William Skidmore said. It took 15 minutes before the call was made, a long time
in a fire, he said.
But the delay wasn't criminal, Skidmore said. However, the owners are responsible for hiring individuals who do not know what they doing. It blows our mind that a blowtorch fire can destroy a 240-unit luxury building that has a sprinkler system; unless of course the sprikler system was inadequate, undersized, lack of firefighting water, and so on.
"It was an accident," he said. "It was a
tragic accident, but that's what it was. It was not a criminal act."
The cause of the fire was determined by an investigation by
the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office arson squad.
Chistie, along with county and local officials, revealed
these details in a press conference outside the Edgewater Community Center,
where the town is providing aid to displaced residents. The governor and his
cabinet huddled with Bergen County Executive James Tedesco, Mayor Michael
McPartland and local emergency responders before greeting relief workers and
victims of the fire.
Gov.
Christie and police chief say Edgewater fire accidental In a press conference at the
Edgewater Community Center, Gov. Chris Christie and William Skidmore, the
Edgewater Police Chief, said that the massive fire was accidental but that an
investigation into the building codes would be conducted.
He said he wanted to assure victims that the state was
working to ensure the "transition" after the fire was as smooth as
possible.
"At times like this most people are concerned they'll
be forgotten," Christie said. "That's why I'm here, to make sure
people know that we won't forget."
Christie said the state would conduct a separate
investigation to ensure the building met current fire codes. He also said the
state may review current fire codes in the wake of the fire.
Edgewater Fire Chief Tom Jacobson said earlier the
lightweight, wooden construction of the Avalon Bay complex allowed the flames
to spread so rapidly. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, AvalonBay
Communities, owners of the complex, said the building met fire and safety
codes.
"The purpose of those codes is not to prevent the
building from burning down, but rather to ensure that there is sufficient time
and opportunity for all occupants to exit safely in the event of a fire,"
the company wrote. "We are grateful that everyone at Avalon at Edgewater
was able to leave the building and get to safety without serious injury."
A
spokesman declined to immediately comment on the results of the arson squad
investigation.
For all of us who live in Edgewater the water pressure has been a big issue for many years, especially in the new part of Edgewater where the new developments took place in the 1990s and onward. We have been warning people about the shoddy construction implemented by well-connected firms.
These firms installed undersized water piping that can only carry a certain amount of water and under a certain pressure. There was simply not enough water to fight the fire at Avalon and the firefighters lost some very valuable time in trying to put the fire under control. They made statements to that effect and they had to bring in fireboats to fight the fire, but it was too late. In fact, the videos that the news networks' helicopters took are very revealing: they show the very weak water stream that was being used to put out the fire; there was simply inadequate water and the water was barely reaching the middle of the fire.
The above opinion is supported by the statements of Bogota Fire Battalion Chief Joe DiMauro who explained to WCBS 2, "If you hit the hydrant in so many locations, it lowers the pressure." The FDNY Tweeted, "FDNY Marine 1's fireboat 343 is heading to Edgewater, NJ, to assist with 5-alarm fire."
In other developments in Edgewater, people have been complaining about the low water pressure that their homes have. Upon further inquiries at the time, we discovered that there is simply not enough pipe diameter to carry both the fire suppression water and the domestic use water. Shoddy and cost-cutting developer's work, who were well-connected in Edgewater and got all that substandard work approved by the Borough.
This is a tragedy that should have never happened. The Borough officials have let the people down by approving shoddy construction and undersized fire suppression and fire fighting systems.
