Waters Edge Condo Fire (Mission Fire)

[jimmy4321]

He claims in that article he had an extinguisher (may not be hard to prove), but when he noticed the fire it had already taken off on him quickly and with the structure down withing an hour it's not hard to believe.
As far as witnesses go, who takes notice if he had an extinguisher?
It's easy to assume the worse, and with the massive loss it's hard to accept it could be due to a lot of bad luck.

[WalterWhite]

I cannot understand for the life of me why fires of this nature happen so frequently. Roofers with torches have caused some of the biggest condo fires, yet I have yet to hear of even once where they have had a fire extinguisher on site. Workplace BC should insist that there ALWAYS be two persons doing the job and ALWAYS a fire extinguisher handy. Seems a no-brainer to me

Sometimes accidents just happen.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#201481

The man who started a catastrophic blaze that destroyed an almost-finished condo building under construction in Kelowna says he did everything he could to stop the flames.

The worker, who was applying torch-on decking material on the pool deck of the Water's Edge II condos on Saturday, didn't want to reveal his name, but called Castanet as much to get it off his chest as to defend his actions.

"I did everything I could to prevent it from happening," he said.

The contractor said he was working on the second-floor pool deck and was capping off a final layer of material using a torch-on finish.

He said he cut the tar paper on the unfinished wall beside the deck away to a level he felt would be safe, and was concentrating on the work at his feet when the radiant heat of the torch ignited the dry paper.

"I looked up, and it was already at the height of my head," he said.

It shot up the side of the structure within moments.

"I tried to rip it off the wall with my hands, but it shot up in a matter of seconds," he said.

Despite some claims to the contrary, he says he did have a fire extinguisher on site, but says the fire spread too quickly for it to have any affect.

He called it a freak accident, and said he followed all the normal procedures for that type of work.

"I yelled the neighbours to call 911 ... There was no stopping it."

In less than an hour, the six-storey structure was a pile of flaming debris.

Choking up as he recalled the massive blaze, he said he's "just happy to be alive."

The man suffered burns to his hands in trying to tear the burning paper off the wall, and said: "Right now, I'm hurting, but I'm just glad that nobody got killed."

"I want people to know that I really tried everything ... I don't want them to think that it was negligence," he said.

[goalie]

Gonna be hard to prove he had a fire extinguisher unless they can find it in the rubble.

[JayByrd]

Very well put. Anyone that uses a open torch on flammable materials in the weather we are having is a COMPLETE IDIOT. NO fire extinguishers is a NO NO if that is true. Carelessness is what comes to my mind. I can see him being sued big time. He will be left with nothing.

He could give the ownerseverything he has (and ever will have) and they'd never recoup their losses. Private citizens are rarely sued for large amounts of money for this reason. Someone's insurance will cover this, whether it's the developer's and the strata owners' own insurance or the contractor's liability insurance.

I too appreciate this fellow sharing his side of the story. Whether it was his fault or not, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes today.

[Jflem1983]

So he was using a torch against tar paper . Gee what could possibly go wrong . Hope he has good insurance . Sounds like a full out admission of guilt

[the truth]

ya think

[JBX]

Man I feel for that guy, good on him for sharing his side of things, now he needs to vanish from the public eye and wait for this to blow over.

Poor dude.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Gonna be hard to prove he had a fire extinguisher unless they can find it in the rubble.

Not always the case. Could be witnesses, maybe another worker had been there earlier..

[WalterWhite]

viewtopic.php?f=117&t=73447

[Even Steven]

Hope his hands are ok.

[motokelowna1]

So glad to see that in this country modern use of materials are used in the construction of housing . When fire is needed to seal then replaced at a later date due to age ,sun exposure start to change your ways and come into the 21st century.

[maryjane48]

I cannot understand for the life of me why fires of this nature happen so frequently. Roofers with torches have caused some of the biggest condo fires, yet I have yet to hear of even once where they have had a fire extinguisher on site. Workplace BC should insist that there ALWAYS be two persons doing the job and ALWAYS a fire extinguisher handy. Seems a no-brainer to me

you got that right

[LTD]

So he was using a torch against tar paper . Gee what could possibly go wrong . Hope he has good insurance . Sounds like a full out admission of guilt

perhaps you should read it again

[tsayta]

Restarted?

[What_the]

Just wondering. How many have pulled the pin on an extinguisher and actually put out a fire... when life and limb have depended on it?

I haven't. Had marine firefighting training too. Failed that part of the curriculum.