EDGEWATER, N.J., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A fire that devastated a luxury apartment building was ruled to be an accidental result of construction repairs gone wrong.

The fire started when workers were doing plumbing repairs, and spark spread through the walls and the building. Questions surround why the fire was able to spread so quickly and do such severe damage. Gov. Chris Christie said there will be a review to see if the building was up to code. Avalon, the company that owns the complex, said it was built to code, which is focused on saving lives rather than the building.

"There was nothing suspicious about it, and we have complete verification, and there's no doubt about it," said Edgewater Police Chief William Skidmore. "It's just a tragic accident."

Five hundred people are homeless as a result. The fire started Wednesday evening and by Thursday morning 200 of the 408 units were up in smoke.

There are no missing persons but several pets are believed to have died.

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Luxury apartment fire that displaced hundreds sparked by plumbing repair

EDGEWATER, N.J. (WABC) --

"I don't think we've got much more time in here," said a firefighter over radio transmission.

For the first time, Eyewitness News has obtained the desperate radio transmissions as firefighters rushed to evacuate the Avalon at Edgewater.

They used a ladder to bash in apartment windows in a last ditch attempt to vent the building. And then, there was the blaring of air horns. The universal sign it's time for even the rescuers to run for safety.

Minutes later, the inferno would be ravaging nearly the entire complex, which then disintegrated piece by burning piece.

"Being homeless in a couple of hours, it's horrible. You can't imagine. You left everything inside and you don't know what's going to happen," said Uzeyir Karabiyik, a resident.

The images are seared on the minds of Uzeyir Karabiyik and his family. And they are the lucky ones. They still have a home in the so-called River building. It was the only part of the complex to emerge intact.

"We have started the process of allowing people to get their lives back together and turning towards normalcy as to what we can call normal," an official said during a press conference.

This is not normal.

Two neighbors from Scranton, Pennsylvania had their trucks stuffed with donations from friends and drove 120 miles there to drop it off.

Read more here:
Hundreds displaced in New Jersey apartment building fire; ruled accidental

Londons affordable housing investment will pay for about 15 percent fewer properties than it would have three years ago because of soaring construction costs, consulting firm EC Harris LLP said.

The city government will spend 1.25 billion pounds ($1.89 billion) constructing 45,000 affordable homes in London through 2018. If it had been invested in 2012, when the construction market was at a low point, the money London is spending now would have built 6,300 extra homes and created 2,000 jobs a year, Mark Farmer, head of EC Harriss residential team, said in a report.

It is surely a common-sense philosophy to maximize the expenditure of public money when you can get more bang for your buck, Farmer said. Some major infrastructure programs such as Crossrail have proceeded on this basis during the depths of the recession, but it would appear publicly funded or subsidized housing has not.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne cut spending on housing for the countrys poorest by 60 percent from 2011 through 2015 as he focused on reducing Britains budget deficit. The number of social and affordable homes completed in England fell by almost 30 percent in fiscal 2014 from three years earlier, according to government statistics.

Bricklayers stand on scaffolding as they work on the "Catford Green" residential apartment complex during construction in the Catford district of London. Much of the U.K.s low-cost housing is funded today by private developers through levies paid in return for having their projects approved. Close

Bricklayers stand on scaffolding as they work on the "Catford Green" residential... Read More

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Bricklayers stand on scaffolding as they work on the "Catford Green" residential apartment complex during construction in the Catford district of London. Much of the U.K.s low-cost housing is funded today by private developers through levies paid in return for having their projects approved.

Every pound spent on homebuilding results in a 2.75-pound benefit for the economy, meaning the government should spend more on housing when the economys weak, Farmer said.

Much of the U.K.s low-cost housing is funded today by private developers through levies paid in return for having their projects approved. That means affordable housing construction moves up and down with the private market, when it should be doing the opposite, Farmer said

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How U.K.s Austerity Cost London 6,300 Affordable Homes

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January 22, 2015, 7:01 AM Last updated: Thursday, January 22, 2015, 11:40 PM

A massive fire that raged for hours on Wednesday night, reducing a luxury Edgewater apartment complex to a pile of charred rubble and leaving more than 500 homeless, started with a blowtorch that was being used to fix a leaking pipe, officials said on Thursday.

CHRIS PEDOTA/staff photographer

Police Chief William Skidmore said workers were using a torch while fixing a leak and doing plumbing repairs when the fire started.

Maintenance workers who were doing plumbing repairs in the 408-unit Avalon at Edgewater complex initially tried to tamp down the flames themselves on Wednesday afternoon, waiting 15 minutes before they called 911, officials said. Nearly 24 hours later, after what turned into a grueling night for hundreds of firefighters battling one of the largest blazes in Bergen County history, the destruction of the building where the fire began was nearly complete.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Smoke still rises from the apartment complex as firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the site.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the fire site.

NBC New York

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Officials: Edgewater apartment complex fire accidentally caused by workers (video]

January 22, 2015, 6:58 PM Last updated: Thursday, January 22, 2015, 10:40 PM

The type of construction firefighters faced while battling a massive blaze at an Edgewater apartment complex this week is common in New Jersey and elsewhere, and one that many say raises challenges and concerns because of the potential for collapse and for flames to travel swiftly.

So-called lightweight wood construction in multistory buildings is a longstanding issue in the firefighting community a cheaper, faster and legal style of building that some have been saying for years needs better checks and balances.

Related: How to help those displaced by Edgewater fire

Mobile users, click here to watch video.

Related: Officials: Blow torch used by workers sparked Edgewater apartment complex fire

Photos: 5-alarm blaze destroys Edgewater apartments

Officials said the destroyed Edgewater building had lightweight construction with a truss style of roof framing. The owners of the building, AvalonBay Communities, said the building was built according to code.

Its all over the state of New Jersey. Its toothpick construction. You can see fires all over the county; once they get started its very difficult or impossible to stop, said Charles Aughenbaugh, past president of New Jersey Deputy Fire Chiefs Association, adding that firefighters did a terrific job getting people out and ultimately saving all lives.

David Kurasz, executive director of the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, said the fact that there were no fatalities is a miracle, given the magnitude of the fire.

Go here to see the original:
Buildings lightweight structure, legal and common, adds fuel to raging Avalon fire

January 22, 2015, 7:01 AM Last updated: Thursday, January 22, 2015, 11:40 PM

A massive fire that raged for hours on Wednesday night, reducing a luxury Edgewater apartment complex to a pile of charred rubble and leaving more than 500 homeless, started with a blowtorch that was being used to fix a leaking pipe, officials said on Thursday.

CHRIS PEDOTA/staff photographer

Police Chief William Skidmore said workers were using a torch while fixing a leak and doing plumbing repairs when the fire started.

Maintenance workers who were doing plumbing repairs in the 408-unit Avalon at Edgewater complex initially tried to tamp down the flames themselves on Wednesday afternoon, waiting 15 minutes before they called 911, officials said. Nearly 24 hours later, after what turned into a grueling night for hundreds of firefighters battling one of the largest blazes in Bergen County history, the destruction of the building where the fire began was nearly complete.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Smoke still rises from the apartment complex as firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the site.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the fire site.

NBC New York

Visit link:
Officials: Blow torch used by workers sparked Edgewater apartment complex fire (video]

January 22, 2015, 7:01 AM Last updated: Thursday, January 22, 2015, 11:40 PM

A massive fire that raged for hours on Wednesday night, reducing a luxury Edgewater apartment complex to a pile of charred rubble and leaving more than 500 homeless, started with a blowtorch that was being used to fix a leaking pipe, officials said on Thursday.

CHRIS PEDOTA/staff photographer

Police Chief William Skidmore said workers were using a torch while fixing a leak and doing plumbing repairs when the fire started.

Maintenance workers who were doing plumbing repairs in the 408-unit Avalon at Edgewater complex initially tried to tamp down the flames themselves on Wednesday afternoon, waiting 15 minutes before they called 911, officials said. Nearly 24 hours later, after what turned into a grueling night for hundreds of firefighters battling one of the largest blazes in Bergen County history, the destruction of the building where the fire began was nearly complete.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Smoke still rises from the apartment complex as firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the site.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the fire site.

NBC New York

Continued here:
5-alarm fire at Edgewater's Avalon apt. complex still smoldering; nearly 1,000 displaced

January 22, 2015, 7:01 AM Last updated: Thursday, January 22, 2015, 11:40 PM

A massive fire that raged for hours on Wednesday night, reducing a luxury Edgewater apartment complex to a pile of charred rubble and leaving more than 500 homeless, started with a blowtorch that was being used to fix a leaking pipe, officials said on Thursday.

CHRIS PEDOTA/staff photographer

Police Chief William Skidmore said workers were using a torch while fixing a leak and doing plumbing repairs when the fire started.

Maintenance workers who were doing plumbing repairs in the 408-unit Avalon at Edgewater complex initially tried to tamp down the flames themselves on Wednesday afternoon, waiting 15 minutes before they called 911, officials said. Nearly 24 hours later, after what turned into a grueling night for hundreds of firefighters battling one of the largest blazes in Bergen County history, the destruction of the building where the fire began was nearly complete.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Smoke still rises from the apartment complex as firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the site.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Firefighters from many departments continue to pour water onto the fire site.

NBC New York

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5-alarm fire at Edgewater's Avalon apt. complex still smoldering; 1,000+ displaced

Construction of new homes rebounded in December, helping to push activity for the entire year to the highest level since the peak of the housing boom nine years ago.

Builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million in December, an increase of 4.4 percent from November when unusually severe weather pushed activity down a revised 4.5 percent, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

For all of 2014, builders started construction on 1.01 million new homes and apartments, an increase of 8.8 percent from 2013. It was the first time construction has topped 1 million since the height of the housing boom in 2005, when builders started work on 2.07 million homes. Construction activity plunged to 587,000 in 2010 and has been making a slow recovery since then.

Housing construction topping the 1-million mark for the first time since 2005 adds to signs that the world's largest economy is on solid footing. The economy created nearly 3 million new jobs last year, the best showing since 1999. Economists believe the reviving labor market will drive further gains in housing this year.

President Barack Obama highlighted the improving economy in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday night, describing 2014 a "breakthrough year for America."

Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, called the housing report good news. While building permits fell for a second straight month, she said all the weakness in permits occurred in the apartment sector.

"The housing system has some good support systems in place," she said, noting that many banks have relaxed some requirements for home buyers. The unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds, the biggest sector for first-time home buyers, has also dropped to a six-year low.

For December, construction of single-family homes rose 7.2 percent while the smaller apartment sector, which can be volatile from month to month, fell 0.8 percent.

Applications for building permits dropped 1.9 percent in December to 1.03 million after a 3.7 percent decline in November.

By region, housing construction rose 12.5 percent in the Northeast and was up 8.8 percent in the South and 5.8 percent in the West. The Midwest was the only region to record a decline in December, falling 13.3 percent.

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US home construction up 4.4 percent in December