TUSCON, AZ
OCTOBER 9, 2017
A fire caused accidentally by new pipes being sweated together displaced two separate units and 3 adults but everyone is OK. No working smoke alarms but luckily someone was awake and saw smoke. The fire stayed hidden in the walls, but firefighters contained it in 22 minutes.
(Source: Tucson Fire Department) TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
Spontaneous combustion cause of foothills apartment fire
Monday, October, 2017
By Carolyn Yaussy, Digital Content Producer
Spontaneous combustion caused by oily rags started an apartment fire near the 5000 block of North First Avenue just before 12:30 a.m. Monday Oct. 9, according to the Tucson Fire Department.
TFD said flames were coming from a balcony and hitting a tree just outside of the unit.
Firefighters said no one was home at the time of the fire.
Thirteen units nearby had to be evacuated.
In all it took 11 fire units and 27 firefighters to contain the blaze.
No injuries were reported.
The occupant was not home to hear the beep where they sleep, but a neighbor saw the #fire and called 9-1-1. No one injured and #firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby apartments #tucson every second counts, plan 2 ways out
AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) -
The Amarillo Fire Department has ruled the cause of the Taylor's Furniture Gallery structure fire as "undetermined."
AFD officials said at 11:45 a.m. they received a call about smoke coming from Taylor's Furniture.
When they arrived on scene, they found a fire in the southeast corner of the building.
Police were able to contain the fire by 4:00 p.m.
Damages have been estimated at $500,000.
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Fire causes 500K in damage at Taylor Furniture
A Saturday blaze that proved challenging for Amarillo Fire Department caused $500,000 in damage to Taylor Furniture Gallery.
At 11:45 a.m., employees at the Whataburger near Southwest 45th Avenue and South Western Street reported smoke coming from the nearby business, according to an AFD news release. Fire crews arrived two minutes later and forced their way into the closed storefront at 4559 S. Western.
Firefighters extinguished all the fire they could find, but then realized more fire was burning in an inaccessible second-floor office. The only access was a staircase that had already burned.
For several hours, 30 firefighters from nine units tried to access the office, but the deterioration of the structure from fire and water hindered their efforts. Sections of the roof had caved in before the blaze was finally under control at 3:57 p.m.
The Amarillo Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire had started in that office, but the cause is undetermined.
Damages from the fire, including the merchandise inside, were estimated at $500,000.
JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM A train derailed and knocked a house off its foundation in northwest Atlanta.
Train derails, knocks house off its foundation in northwest Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Story Highlights
- Fourteen railcars left the tracks near the 1300 block of Andrews Street.
- A man in the home was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
- All intersections the train crosses are currently blocked.
A train derailed and knocked a northwest Atlanta home off its foundation early Thursday as a man slept in his bedroom.
The man, who was trapped inside the home in the 1300 block of Andrews Street, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with minor injuries to his legs after authorities rescued him, officials said.
“You’re sleeping in your bed, and you hear a large rumble and then you hear a large crash,” Atlanta fire spokesman Cortez Stafford. “So he’s very fortunate that he’s alive right now.”
According to Stafford, the northbound CSX train went about 5 to 10 feet inside the house after 14 railcars left the tracks about 3 a.m.
The impact pushed part of the home’s structure out through the other side, leaving it unlivable.
Atlanta firefighters responded Thursday morning after a train derailed and crashed into a house in northwest Atlanta. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
All intersections where the train crosses were blocked for several hours, but the scene was quickly stabilized and the neighborhood did not need to be evacuated, Stafford said.
A man was injured when a train derailed and crashed into a house in northwest Atlanta early Thursday. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said crews would work around the clock to clear the derailed cars as quickly as possible.
The cause of the incident will be investigated as part of the recovery effort, he said.
“There are no reports of any leaks or spills of freight from the train at this time,” he said. “And CSX personnel are working with Atlanta police and firefighters to assess the situation while maintaining the safety of nearby residents.”
At the time of the crash, the train was traveling from Waycross to Cincinnati, Ohio, with three locomotives, 68 loaded railcars and 123 empty railcars, Doolittle said.
A man was injured when a train derailed and crashed into a house in northwest Atlanta early Thursday. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The train was hauling sand, carbon black used in tire manufacturing and other bulk materials.
Tomaya Tucker, a neighbor of the injured man, said the train runs through the area about four times a day and she never expected anything like this to happen.
The crash sounded like something blew up, she said. So she ran outside to see what happened.
The beautiful home she admired with about six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a porch and a big backyard was ruined.
“Your house is your pride,” Tucker said.
There aren’t many homes in Tucker’s immediate area, and it’s a quiet community, she said.
“So for that to happen,” Tucker said, “my feelings (are) hurt for him.”
John Eagle Collision Owes $31.5M for Performing Improper Repairs
October 3, 2017
Oct. 3, 2017—A Texas jury found that John Eagle Collision Repair Center owes $31.5 million for performing an improper repair that led to a couple being trapped in a burning car.
The lawsuit gained national media attention in August after Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, who were trapped in the crushed, burning 2010 Honda Fit after a collision, found that John Eagle Collision Center (Dallas) had used glue instead of welds when replacing a hail-damaged steel roof on the vehicle prior to the accident.
Now that John Eagle has been assigned 75 percent liability in the case, Erica Eversman, a collision repair attorney for Vehicle Information Services, says that the verdict could become a watershed moment that will affect collision-insurer relationships and increase public awareness of OEM procedures. It has the potential to lead to a class action lawsuit, she said.
The Dallas County jury attributed the other 25 percent of the blame to the other driver. The verdict was 10-2.
The Seebachans' attorney Todd Tracy indicated they may revive another lawsuit against State Farm, which allegedly had influence over John Eagle not following OEM specifications.
"State Farm secretly and covertly plays Russian Roulette with its customers and the public by forcing body shops to choose their profits over the safety of the motoring public," Tracy said.
Tracy’s campaign highlighting the insurance industry’s influence over collision repairs has stirred up several news stories over the past couple months, resulting in Texas Watch, a citizen advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring insurance companies are held accountable, requesting the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) investigate the insurance industry’s “corner cutting” of automobile repairs.
Tori Sommerman, deputy director of Texas Watch, said the organization never felt compelled to involve itself in the insurer-collision relationship until this lawsuit.
“We believe body shops should be making safe repairs,” she said. “We also believe, then, insurance companies should prioritize policyholder’s safety.”
TOM MOORE
October 4, 2017
Just looking at the one photo from the crash area. Does anyone else seem to think it was a windshield installation problem and not a roof skin problem?
PETER CABRAL
October 4, 2017
Wasn't it their feet that were trapped? I understand the car is designed to allow the drive-train to go under the floor-pan. The roof replacement was a skin only. Sounds like Honda is lucky to be suit free.
