BERKELEY -- A spectacular two-alarm fire gutted an apartment building south of the UC Berkeley campus early Thursday morning, displacing as many as nine people and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes, the Berkeley Fire Department said.

And it's midterm week to boot.

The accidental fire -- blamed on a set of water heaters -- flared up at 4:13 a.m. at a three-story, six-unit building on Dwight Way near Fulton Street. It took nearly four hours for a squad of 32 firefighters to methodically extinguish it, with tactics quickly shifting to a defensive fight from the outside after the roof and upper floor collapsed and made it unsafe to be inside, said Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong.

The occupants escaped safely, Dong said. Additionally, residents from adjacent apartments and homes were evacuated amid fears that parts of the fire-ravaged building might break off onto adjacent structures.

Imran Khan, a 26-year-old mechanical engineering graduate student, lives behind the charred building and was forced to flee with cell phone in hand and a blanket around his waist.

"A noise awoke me and then I saw the building on fire through my window," Khan said, holding a pair of blue jeans in his hand. "I grabbed my pants, but did not have time to put them on."

Later in the morning, Khan and other tenants were escorted by firefighters to retrieve things like laptop computers and shoes, but were not immediately allowed to reinhabit their

Khan had a more forgiving midterm schedule, with an exam set for 5 p.m. Thursday, but he could be forgiven for not seeing that silver lining.

"We'll see how it goes the rest of the day," he said.

A team of fire investigators probed the blaze, which displaced at least nine occupants. Dong said not all of the units in the building were rented out.

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Fire guts apartment building near UC Berkeley

BERKELEY -- A spectacular two-alarm fire gutted an apartment building south of the UC Berkeley campus early Thursday morning, displacing as many as nine people and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes, the Berkeley Fire Department said.

And it's midterm week to boot.

The accidental fire -- blamed on a set of water heaters -- flared up at 4:13 a.m. at a three-story, six-unit building on Dwight Way near Fulton Street. It took nearly four hours for a squad of 32 firefighters to methodically extinguish it, with tactics quickly shifting to a defensive fight from the outside after the roof and upper floor collapsed and made it unsafe to be inside, said Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong.

The occupants escaped safely, Dong said. Additionally, residents from adjacent apartments and homes were evacuated amid fears that parts of the fire-ravaged building might break off onto adjacent structures.

Imran Khan, a 26-year-old mechanical engineering graduate student, lives behind the charred building and was forced to flee with cell phone in hand and a blanket around his waist.

"A noise awoke me and then I saw the building on fire through my window," Khan said, holding a pair of blue jeans in his hand. "I grabbed my pants, but did not have time to put them on."

Later in the morning, Khan and other tenants were escorted by firefighters to retrieve things like laptop computers and shoes, but were not immediately allowed to reinhabit their

Khan had a more forgiving midterm schedule, with an exam set for 5 p.m. Thursday, but he could be forgiven for not seeing that silver lining.

"We'll see how it goes the rest of the day," he said.

A team of fire investigators probed the blaze, which displaced at least nine occupants. Dong said not all of the units in the building were rented out.

Read more here:
Two-alarm fire guts apartment building near UC Berkeley

By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

Demolition of the Argyle apartment building in downtown Findlay is expected to finally begin this morning.

Officials initially hoped the razing would happen shortly after a Feb. 23 fire tore through the building. The damaged, structurally unsound building forced city officials to close off the 500 block of South Main Street.

But the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency determined that asbestos present in the building will require extensive cleanup, a decision which has slowed the demolition process.

Agency spokeswoman Dina Pierce said that because materials containing asbestos caught fire, the asbestos fiber became airborne and contaminated the rest of the building.

"A survey done after the fire found friable (broken) material in the roofing and some of the floor tile," Pierce said.

"It's very hazardous if it's airborne," Pierce said of asbestos. "It can cause some very serious health problems."

The finding changed the scope of the project. Instead of removing the asbestos first and then tearing down the building, which is what typically happens with most demolition projects, the entire Argyle must be treated as a toxic structure, Pierce said, because the asbestos can't be separated from the rest of the material.

Officials and building owners had been urging the EPA to agree to quick demolition of the building. The city declared the site a public emergency in order to expedite the project, and the owners hired Charles Construction Services of Findlay as the general contractor for the razing.

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Argyle razing to start

Australian construction activity has declined for the past 21 months, a report shows.

The Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association's performance of construction index (PCI) fell 4.2 points to 35.6 in February.

A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.

The index has now shown a contraction for 21 consecutive months.

All four construction industry sub-sectors experienced falls in activity, with commercial and apartment building sectors posting the largest decline.

The new orders sub-index also declined 1.7 points to 34.2.

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) director of public policy Dr Peter Burn said the February data showed the rate of decline increased after slowing in January.

"The tentative signs of recovery that had emerged in the closing months of 2011 as interest rates were lowered, appear to have dissipated since the start of this year," he said.

"With new orders also weak in February and with market interest rates now somewhat higher, the outlook for the next few months remains flat, particularly for commercial and residential construction."

Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Andrew Harvey said the index showed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points in November and again, by the same amount, in December had not been enough to halt the decline in the sector.

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Construction activity slide continues

Australian construction activity has declined for the past 21 months, a report shows.

The Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association's performance of construction index (PCI) fell 4.2 points to 35.6 in February.

A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.

The index has now shown a contraction for 21 consecutive months.

All four construction industry sub-sectors experienced falls in activity, with commercial and apartment building sectors posting the largest decline.

The new orders sub-index also declined 1.7 points to 34.2.

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) director of public policy Dr Peter Burn said the February data showed the rate of decline increased after slowing in January.

"The tentative signs of recovery that had emerged in the closing months of 2011 as interest rates were lowered, appear to have dissipated since the start of this year," he said.

"With new orders also weak in February and with market interest rates now somewhat higher, the outlook for the next few months remains flat, particularly for commercial and residential construction."

Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Andrew Harvey said the index showed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points in November and again, by the same amount, in December had not been enough to halt the decline in the sector.

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Construction's 21st month of decline

IQALUIT, Nunavut - Nunavut's former fire marshal says the territorial government should have known an apartment block that was the scene of a fatal blaze didn't meet modern building codes.

Tony Noakes, who lost his job in May 2010 after he voiced related concerns, says similar problems exist throughout the territory.

"I'm concerned government hasn't implemented any recommendations I put forward in my report in 2009," Noakes, who now lives in Lyndhurst, Ont., said Tuesday. "Maybe something could have been done to save these people.

"It's not a far stretch to say there's gross negligence here."

At least two people died when a 22-unit block in the White Row apartments went up in flames on the frigid night of Feb. 27. The building was being used as a residence for Nunavut Arctic College and all the tenants but one were students or their families.

Some 83 people were forced outside in -50 C temperatures and lost everything in the fire.

Reports have said the two who died were adult children of an Arctic College student. Remains of one person were found Friday and police reported Monday that a second set of remains had been found.

An RCMP forensic team was on the site.

White Row was built about 35 years ago well before Nunavut was created and Iqaluit named as its capital. Noakes pointed to a fire inspection dated Jan. 23, 2000, that outlined a series of structural problems with White Row's 200 block.

The biggest problem was that individual units didn't have adequate fire-resistant separation walls between them, said the report. It also noted that existing drainage, waste and ventilation pipes should have been sealed off with fire-resistant drywall.

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Government knew building in fatal Iqaluit fire a trap: former fire marshal

The Portland Housing Bureau has broken ground on a Northwest Portland housing project that will bring 80 affordable apartments to an area near Union Station.

During a ceremony on Monday, the bureau announced the beginning of the latest phase of The Yards project, a multiphase residential and retail redevelopment project that will transform a seven-acre brownfield behind Union Station.

The first three phases are complete and have brought 535 new, mixed-income housing units to Portland. The first phase began about 15 years ago. The latest phase will add 80 residential units to the project, and its construction is expected to cost $15 million.

The Housing Bureau invested more than $4 million in River District Tax Increment Funds for the latest phase, and also offered a 10-year tax exemption. The project is also expected to create more than 200 construction jobs, and will result in a LEED silver-certified building.

Specifically, the new building will create six studios, 48 one-bedroom apartments and 26 two-bedroom units with 48 parking spaces. A community room, lounge area and fitness center will be built on the ground floor, and free bicycle and other storage spaces will be available.

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Ground broken for 80-unit affordable apartment building in Northwest Portland

A city planning commission stalled in making a decision on a proposed apartment complex on North Brooks Street Monday because of conflict between city and university building guidelines.

Property owner Joseph McCormick presented a proposed plan to tear down two existing apartment buildings at 202-206 N. Brooks St. and replace them with one five-story apartment complex.

The apartment complex is designed for students with two-, three- and four-bedroom units, bicycle and moped parking and a modern design.

Its going to serve the students at UW and is very attractive and will serve the market for years to come, project architect Joe Lee said.

The Plan Commission referred the proposal to the Urban Design Commission, which will review the proposed apartment plans for a third time. The Plan Commissions concern included the proposed buildings height and how far it would be set back from the street.

McCormicks proposal also conflicts with guidelines for future construction projects set in the Campus Master Plan, Regent Street South Campus Neighborhood Plan and the citys Comprehensive Plan.

UW Facilities Planning and Management Director Gary Brown said the campus master plan calls for academic and research facilities, including an addition to the Educational Sciences Building to be built the on the corner of Brooks and Dayton streets.

Although the city and universitys plans direct the type of construction in the southeast campus area, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said they are recommendations and more of a should-do this than a must-do this.

Resnick said although he understands the conflict, the new apartment complex would be replacing the current dilapidated structures, which were built in 1905 and have no other historical relevance to the neighborhood.

In situations similar to this, developers have compromised and built less-concrete structures with a shorter life span, according to Resnick. However, no agreement has been reached.

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City stalls on proposed apartment complex on North Brooks Street

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The rest is here:
Building opponents lose appeal

By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Monday ordered extensive asbestos removal at the burned Argyle apartment building, where demolition is expected to start this week, Service-Safety Director Paul Schmelzer said.

"The news is the worst case scenario from the owners' perspective," Schmelzer said. Specialists in hazardous materials removal must undertake "full-site remediation," which is costly, he said.

The 122-year-old building, damaged by fire and the millions of gallons of water poured on it Feb. 23, has been destined for razing since last week, when structural engineers decided it was in danger of collapsing. Wall bracing was done to temporarily keep it upright.

City officials had hoped to get the site declared an emergency by the state, so the razing process could be hurried. But the EPA's asbestos concerns have slowed demolition.

Since the fire, South Main Street from Sandusky to Lincoln streets has been closed to traffic, which has affected commerce, too. Some of those barricades will come down today.

"We hope to have the building in a pile, sidewalks cleaned up and Main Street reopened on March 12, a week from now," Schmelzer said Monday.

Asbestos removal could begin as early as today, but Schmelzer said hazardous materials crews will have to get equipment there and become familiar with the site.

Asbestos cleanup and demolition can be done at the same time, he said, and demolition may begin Thursday.

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EPA orders removal of asbestos at fire-damaged Argyle building