SAN FRANCISCOSan Francisco fire investigators on Wednesday were looking into whether welding work was to blame for a massive blaze that barreled through an apartment building construction site, threatening nearby buildings, prompting evacuations and forcing officials to call in about half the city's on-duty firefighters to prevent its spread.

As fire crews doused hotspots in the charred remains of the block-long apartment complex, city officials said they narrowly avoided a catastrophe in an up-and-coming neighborhood near the San Francisco Giants ballpark.

"I think we're very lucky that the fire didn't jump anymore," Mayor Ed Lee said.

The exact cause of the fireone of the city's largest in recent yearswas under investigation, but fire officials were looking into preliminary reports that workers were doing torch work at the site shortly before the fire was reported around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.

The five-alarm fire created a plume of black smoke that was visible for miles and led to the evacuation of nearby buildings, as more than 150 firefighters were called in to contain it. One of the walls of the burning building collapsed about an hour after the fire began.

The blaze also cracked windows on an apartment building, Strata at Mission Bay, across the street and sent an ember onto the roof of a University of California, San Francisco building in the neighborhood. Two firefighter suffered minor injuries.

The fire was fueled by wood frames and other materials at the site, Hayes-White said. Since it was under construction, the building also had no fire suppression systems.

"Our objective last night, which we were able to achieve, was to contain (the fire) to the building of origin," she said.

Fire officials did not have an exact estimate on the damage on Wednesday, but said the entire six-story building was considered a loss.

The Strata apartment building remained evacuated on Wednesday.

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Mayor: Welding at site of big San Francisco blaze

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SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) It was a long night for San Francisco firefighters who remained at the scene early Wednesday and continued to pour water on the firein Mission Bay that destroyed a large under-construction apartment building Tuesday evening.

The project on the west side of Fourth Street between China Basin and Mission Rock, near AT&T Park, is expected to be a total loss. Officials said the structure would likely fully collapse on its own, but a contractor has been called in to develop a plan to safely take down the building. There is no timeline for that project, and a perimeter will be kept up around the building indefinitely.

On Wednesday, occasional flames were visible through a fine curtain of mist created by the water blowing in wind along with falling debris and shards of glass on Fourth Street.

San Francisco Deputy Fire Chief Mark Gonzales said the building had partially collapsed on itself, but that there was concern about the scaffolding on the outside coming down as well. Some residents in surrounding buildings were still under evacuation orders because those buildings do not have fire protection in them. An estimated 30 units will be uninhabitable for an indefinite amount of time.

PHOTOS: San Francisco Mission Bay Fire

Some of those buildings on the Fourth Street, their exterior sprinklers were activated during the fire, so we cant get in there to replace them, Gonzalez said. A lot fire protection is off in those buildings.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said at a news conference at the scene Wednesday morning that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but noted that it started above ground.

They were doing some welding, we dont know what occurred there, Lee said.

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Mission Bay Inferno Leaves San Francisco Apartment Complex Project As Total Loss

By TERRY COLLINS and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco fire investigators on Wednesday were looking into whether welding work was to blame for a massive blaze that barreled through an apartment building construction site, threatening nearby buildings, prompting evacuations and forcing officials to call in about half the city's on-duty firefighters to prevent its spread.

As fire crews doused hotspots in the charred remains of the block-long apartment complex, city officials said they narrowly avoided a catastrophe in an up-and-coming neighborhood near the San Francisco Giants ballpark.

"I think we're very lucky that the fire didn't jump anymore," Mayor Ed Lee said.

The exact cause of the fire - one of the city's largest in recent years - was under investigation, but fire officials were looking into preliminary reports that workers were doing torch work at the site shortly before the fire was reported around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.

The five-alarm fire created a plume of black smoke that was visible for miles and led to the evacuation of nearby buildings, as more than 150 firefighters were called in to contain it. One of the walls of the burning building collapsed about an hour after the fire began.

The blaze also cracked windows on an apartment building, Strata at Mission Bay, across the street and sent an ember onto the roof of a University of California, San Francisco building in the neighborhood. Two firefighter suffered minor injuries.

The fire was fueled by wood frames and other materials at the site, Hayes-White said. Since it was under construction, the building also had no fire suppression systems.

"Our objective last night, which we were able to achieve, was to contain (the fire) to the building of origin," she said.

Fire officials did not have an exact estimate on the damage on Wednesday, but said the entire six-story building was considered a loss.

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Welding possible cause of San Francisco fire - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

A five-alarm fire that destroyed an apartment building under construction in the city's Mission Bay neighborhood on Tuesday is not yet under control this morning.

Firefighters are continuing to put water on the blaze, which burned at a construction site at Fourth and China Basin streets, but flames are no longer visible.

The neighborhood smells of smoke, and water is cascading down the sides of the gutted building and running onto Fourth Street.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said at a news conference at the scene this morning that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but noted that it started above ground.

"They were doing some welding, we don't know what occurred there," Lee said.

The building that burned was part of a development project by BRE Properties known as MB360. Company officials released a statement Tuesday saying that the building was known as Block 5, which contained 172 units under construction.

Lee identified the contractor as Suffolk Construction Co. He said a sprinkler system was being installed at the site but was not yet operational at the time the fire started.

The blaze was reported shortly before 5 p.m. and grew quickly, sending up a dark plume of smoke that could be seen from many parts of the Bay Area. Flames spread and engulfed the building, and there was initial concern that the blaze could spread to other structures.

Nearby apartments were evacuated, and heat from the flames shattered a number of windows of neighboring buildings.

"I think we're very lucky that the fire didn't jump any more," the mayor said.

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Welding was being done at San Francisco building destroyed by 5-alarm fire

A classic, fully restored Harley was lost, as well as a restored Jeep. Six residents lost their personal belongings. The apartment building at 1363 Broadway, Darien, was destroyed.

Sadly, a dog lost his life.

But no people were seriously hurt, or worse.

That bit of good fortunate is a credit, it seems, to the professionalism of two members of the Darien Volunteer Fire Department who lived in the apartment building.

Joshua Reeb and Paul Redden were home when the fire broke out sometime around 4:30 a.m.

Redden smashed through Reeb's door and woke his fellow volunteer. He said he smelled smoke. Reeb felt the door into the hallway. At that point, he said, his fire training kicked in.

"It was all fire training," Reeb said. "I knew right away from the smell and the heat it was a real one. It wasn't somebody burning something. It was real."

Reeb and Redden helped alert the other residents, including the landlord, who owned the building and had lived in the main apartment for 30 years. Reeb helped him down the second-floor fire escape.

"I knew I had to get out and I had to get out now," Reeb said.

The rest is here:
'Training just kicks in' as volunteers help evacuate their burning apartment building in Darien

SINGAPORE: From the second half of this year, the government will make productive technologies like the Prefabricated, Pre-finished Volumetric Construction and Cross Laminated Timber part of tender conditions for certain government land sales sites.

It will also be further raising the minimum buildable design and constructability scores in September this year and then again in September 2015.

These measures to boost construction sector productivity were announced in Parliament on Monday.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is building Singapore's first multi-storey development using Prefabricated, Pre-finished Volumetric Construction or PPVC.

Successfully used in the US, UK and Australia, PPVC allows whole apartment-sized units, complete with internal fixtures, to be installed on-site.

The new hostel North Hill, which can house 1,800 students, is expected to be completed in end-2015.

Mr Paul Chain, Chief Executive Officer, NTU Development & Facilities Management, said: "We are expecting 40% of labour savings. We are using a bit more materials, so material cost will be higher, but I think if we control properly, the increase in cost ought to be marginal, should not be more than 5%-10%."

NTU is also adopting another new technology - Cross Laminated Timber - in the construction of its new sports hall.

The engineered timber can be used as structural and non-structural components in a building project.

Responding to Channel NewsAsia's query, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it supports initiatives aimed at raising construction productivity by leveraging new technologies, such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).

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Measures to boost Singapore's construction sector productivity

How much is too much?

That's what some real estate insiders and lenders are saying about the surge in new luxury apartment units in downtown Madison.

The Cap Times cover story last week that took a look at the issue was the most-read story on captimes.com.

City figures show that in the "core downtown" area between Park and Blair streets, Madison added 396 apartment units in 2013, with an additional 1,440 either approved or under construction.

But the apartment building boom hasn't negatively impacted the downtown vacancy rate. In the fourth quarter of 2013, there were just 153 vacant units out of 11,400 available in the 53703 ZIP code (1.34 percent).

The most-viewed item last week was our gallery of archive and current-day photos of Carroll Street on the Capitol Square.

Here are the 10 most-viewed items on captimes.com from March 2 to March 8:

1. Photos: Capitol Square through the years: Carroll Street

2. Photos: The Ideal Apartments

3. Boom town: There's no end in sight to new, upscale apartments downtown, but how much is too much?

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Apartment boom, Carroll Street flashback drive week's most-viewed list

VA Apartment Complex Construction

A 50-unit apartment complex is under construction at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Thursday, Mar. 6, 2014. Building 33 is being gutted, renovated and expanded to be turned into the apartment complex which is slated to open this fall. The complex will serve as transitional housing and is geared towards veterans including those with families. Michelle Lepianka Carter | The Tuscaloosa News

An $11 million, multi-story apartment complex for the homeless is underway at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, five years after the project was first announced.

The 50-unit, 83-bed complex is intended for homeless veterans and their families. An existing building that previously served as an inpatient unit for the hospital has been gutted and will serve as one of the apartment buildings. A new, three-story apartment building is also under construction nearby.

"Tuscaloosa VA is extremely proud of this project because it is a direct reflection of the commitment from not only the VA to care for our nation's veterans but also the community's commitment to do the same," said Damon Stevenson, spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa VA. "This collaboration shows how many different agencies can work together to achieve something even greater for those who have given us our freedoms."

In February 2009, VA officials announced plans to offer seven acres of land, along with the vacant 30,000-square-foot Building No. 33 to any organization that was willing to use the facility to help reduce local homelessness. Instead of a temporary or emergency one-night shelter, the intended purpose is that the property be used for "good, supportive, ongoing care to break the cycle of homelessness," Alan Tyler, the medical center's former director said at that time.

Doug Hollyhand of Hollyhand Realty and Birmingham-based MAP Development have formed a nonprofit, Valor Grove, which is developing the project. The complex is being funded by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a $210,000 grant from the City of Tuscaloosa. The remaining balance of the project is being paid for through low income housing and historical tax credits, said Daniel Conville, strategic planner for the Tuscaloosa VA.

Although the project is classified as "transitional" housing, residents will likely stay there long term.

"They'll be able to stay there as long as they meet the criteria for living in that kind of housing," Conville said. "Our goal is to keep them engaged in vocational and educational rehab, job training skills and job placement programs, so hopefully they can move out and be on their own in the community."

Programs through Tuscaloosa's One Place and possibly other community partners will also be in place on site for residents who are not veterans, said developer Scott McGee. Although the housing complex is targeted toward homeless veterans and homeless veterans will have priority placement, it's possible that there will be non-veterans living there as well, he said. Residents will pay rent, but it will be based on income and will vary, McGee said.

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Apartment complex for homeless veterans underway at Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center

By Glenn Griffith @CNWeekly

The large complex, one of the first in Clifton Park, is at 2 Hollandale Lane.

The fire resulted in no loss of life and no injuries to the volunteer firefighters who responded. An early report of two cats being lost in the fire was rescinded after the pets turned up later.

According to Clifton Park-Halfmoon Fire Department First Assistant Fire Chief Mike Horner, the fire was called in as an emergency at 11:30 a.m. March 2. The department, which is located approximately one mile away, responded with a total of 22 firefighters and three fire trucks.

When we arrived on the scene the flames were coming out of the first floor apartment and shooting up the side of the building to the second floor, Horner said. We had it knocked down in about an hour and stayed on the scene another hour looking for hot spots.

Other volunteer fire departments responding to the fire included the Jonesville Fire Department, West Crescent, Halfmoon-Waterford, Hillcrest, and Boght Corners. The round Lake Fire Department was on standby at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Fire station during the emergency.

Though the cause of the fire remains under review Horner said the two end units of the building where the fire started were a total loss.

The adjacent units have small amounts of smoke damage as well as some ceiling damage where the responders had to go through to check that the fire was not spreading, Horner said. If those tenants are displaced I think itll only be temporary.

Officials with the management of the apartment complex on Tuesday confirmed two units are a total loss and four units have smoke damage and minimal sheet rock damage. They said 10 residents have been displaced due to the fire.

In an unsigned statement the complex management noted the benefits of the fire wall construction and said it is providing most of the residents with temporary housing while the repairs are being made. Continued...

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Apartment fire displaces 10

In this week's Cap Times cover story, Mike Ivey reported on the number of new apartment units Madison is adding and concerns about the impacts on the price of housing and density.

In 2013, nearly two-thirds of the money spent on new development projects in Madison went toward apartments.

And in the "core downtown" that includes the area between Park and Blair streets, 396 new apartment units went on line in 2013, with another 1,440 approved or under construction, according to city figures.

The surge in apartment building serves as one way of explaining the growth in the number of construction jobs in the Madison area.

We reported last month that the Madison metropolitan statistical area (Dane, Columbia and Iowa counties) saw 15.8 percent growth in construction jobs between June 2012 and June 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nearly two in five construction jobs added in Wisconsin in that time were in the Madison area.

The Cap Times' Changing Face of Madison page keeps track of the development projects that are altering the look of the city. When we rolled that out, we looked at how much the new construction spending on apartments has grown in recent years.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the number of jobs in industries at the metropolitan statistical area level, areas that include at least one city with a population of 50,000 or more and the counties with which it has an interconnected economy.

These figures are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which surveys around 95 percent of Wisconsin employers.

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Growth in construction jobs comes with surge in new apartment building in Madison