Discussions

Is anyone else nervous with the fires in Brandon? We live near the new building being built on 18th street by the University and it looks like the same as the one that just burned down with styrofoam walls. Are these the same builders ? Is safety or someone inspecting the buildings for fire hazards? Very nervous about our house now with this so close to us. There seems to be lots of big fires lately, it’s scary that new ones are burning now to.

A fire could happen at any time, any where, even including in your own home.  
 
Should the building company worry about your home if it catches fire?  
 
Typically construction sites have many safety protocals to follow. Also, lots of the fires in town that happen are either by fire bugs, or people who have no place to stay so they find a vacant place and make a fire to stay warm.  
 
This recent one I do not believe it was either of those.  
 
But I believe you are worrying for nothing.

Maybe live where we are and you will understand a little bit better. Christie’s and that apartment building have burned down around us just in the past years. Now we are staring at a huge building like the one that just burned down that should have had protocols. Thank you for your reply but it is not very helpful. We are very worried.

I don't think what is happening now here in Brandon is anything out of the ordinary. I've been here my whole life and Brandon has always had fires and large fires that have destroyed businesses and buildings. If anything there's less fires now compared to the 80's and 90's when I was growing up.  
 
The problem now though is more and more large apartment buildings are going up around town and it was only a matter of time before something happened

For peace of mind, you could set up a meeting with your insurance broker about the coverage you would have if that building were to burn down and it affected your home.

We’ve been here quite some time too and I don’t remember any large building being built burning to the ground. It seemed so fast and scary which must have been because of the styrofoam. If there was wind like when Christie’s burned those other apartments might have caught fire too or houses nearby. Too many large fires lately when there is supposed to be better laws and protections.

More worried about the people inside our walls than insurance money. This building is empty a lot so fire could go unnoticed at night and that other one burned down in like an hour. Don’t want to leave our family home but maybe we should to be safe.

Whe I was a child, a house across the street burned in front of our house, we all watched it burn as where I lived had no fire hydrants.  
 
I lived not far from the Christie's fire. The house across from my work place caught fire twice in one week.  
 
I am not far from the building you are talking about, its not a bare empty lot.  
 
I know how scary and dangerous fires can be, but at the same time I know they can happen at anytime, to any house. I will at no time be paranoid at a building being built. I believe you are making it be more than what it actually is.

Just an observation that you seem very scared about something you clearly do not have all the proper information to make an educated decision for you family.  
1- New build apartment was exactly that new with no interior drywall installed yes, not interior fire stopping suppression installed and think of your last campfire stand all the wood upright with nothing to slow down or stop fire!  
2-Now Christies fire take a 100 year old building that when built had no regulations for any sort of fire suppression or fire stopping, very very dry wood structure so again fire able to burn easily.  
3-Apartment fire on Pacific, HUMAN error cigarette but unattended.  
4-Old bus depo HUMAN error homeless person unknown ,fire to stay warm.  
5-16th + Rosser HUMAN error homeless person unknown, fire to stay warm.  
6-18th + McTavish HUMAN error homeless person unknown, fires x 2 to stay warm.  
Yes there are new building codes as to construction of new apartments and dwellings that when completed (key word completed) are to protect occupants and public. As well during construction all new builds are inspected during all phases of construction as well as engineers who specify types of protection needing to be incorporated in structure. I am sorry you feel unsafe in your home but truly believe your fine and are just not looking for proper guidance of things you may or may not know or understand. PS over 35 years in building trade and lifetime resident here.

Your likely right, the building under construction near your home could very well go up in flames just like the recent structure, possibly leading to your home being damaged or destroyed, that's reality. Is it likely to happen, I would say no. It is however a scenario that you unfortunately have no control over, other than reporting suspicious activity in the property you might notice ie trespassers making bon fire to keep warm, like a previous poster mentioned.  
 
So your only approach really is to prepare for a fire. Smoke detectors, escape plan, fire extinguishers ready and available.  
 
If the building did catch fire, your family would have time to escape your home, and find safety. As we all saw and you mentioned, it took about an hour to reach fully involved.

when referencing the tragic structure fire for the location the west end, consideration for several factors has to be taken into account.  
 
I've heard a few comments externally about the foam used in the construction, but in reality, that likely didn't have as much to do with the risk/outcome as people assume. When looking at the fire, we can't compare it to what would happen in a completed building. This was a unit that was still under construction, with external framing still being finished, and still had open spaces in the in the interior, meaning the chance of having a fully functional overhead fire suppresion system in operation yet would have been unlikely due to the obvious risk of pipe freeze up from the exposure to the cold. There would have been fire extinguishers on site, but due to many factors, time would have been extremely limited because the safe evacuation of on site staff would have taken precedence.  
 
Also, there would have been a lot of exposed bare wood and framing, which is faster burning in a fire, as well. Let's rememeber that there would have been more air space in the interior, which would make a fire spread more rapidly. In a lot of newer houses and buildings, there are a lot of open concept designs these days, which increases the spread rate and time in many fires these days too, as opposed to how the older space concepts used to be, which had many rooms and doors to close off from fire outbreaks.  
 
Likely,the fire for this unit was probably the result of an electrical issue, or caused by a heating unit inside the building. I have firm belief that the employer and workers on site did everything they were trained to do in this situation, which definetely helped save lives that day.  
 
While it was extremely unfortunate for the development, and very bad news for the tradesmen whose job status which has been affected by the fire, we can at least be thankful for the fact that no loss of life happened, and that many more adjacent buuldings did not also burn down. Had there been a strong wind, or had this happened during the summer, the outcome could have been way worse.  
 
As to the question of why we seem to be seeing an increase in structure/home fires, lets put rumour to rest. With an increase in construction and infrastrucrure over the last few years as a result of population increase and expansion, it is only natural that risks (crime, traffic, violence, unintentional fires) increase as well.  
And lets also not forget that weather patterns have caused heat waves over the summer and fall months as well, increasing that as a risk factor as well.  
 
Ultimately, this is likely a statistical trend that will continue because of the aforementioned factors, but it is one we can all help to reduce by adhering to safe fire preventative planning, as individual homeowners, tenants, etc.