BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX) - A gas smell inside a Bryan home is now gone but the homeowner doesn't know if she'll ever be able to move back.

The mystery first started in the fall of 2018 and then an evacuation on Dec. 19 that year.

Last week we told you about a $1 million lawsuit filed against a nearby energy company. This week the homeowner's attorney met us for an update at the home and gave us a tour inside the house.

A dream home has turned into a nightmare situation on Austin's Estates Drive.

81-year-old Lenice Morgan hasn't been able to live here since she evacuated in December 2018 when flammable gas started coming in.

"We've been able to rule out there are no natural gas lines coming to the house. There are no consumer lines coming to the house. None of the appliances run on natural gas and they never have. There are no septic tanks," said Jeremy Allen, who is Morgan's attorney.

"There are no abandoned wells. We've been able to pretty much rule out every other possible source of natural gas other than the oil and gas production on the nearby property," Allen said.

Last week, Allen filed a lawsuit against Hawkwood Energy Operating seeking more than $1 million in damages.

They believe an an eight-inch gas line leaked, filling the ground underneath the home. Allen said the gas remained even after that line was shut-in. Now, they have monitoring wells around the property.

"We can't say with any reasonable degree of certainty at the moment, how long that gas is going to be down there...There's no noticeable odor inside the home...Its been several months since samples have actually been drawn. The last time samples were drawn in the house we did get trace, trace elements but nothing that would be noticeable by smell," said Allen, who is also a grandson of the homeowner.

He took KBTX inside the home which hasn't had electricity for more than a year.

"You're starting to see the presence of mold in the house, there's some settling in the walls and the floor that results from no irrigation. You can't run the sprinkler system and so the soil around the house gets dry the vegetation is suffering," said Allen.

Davis Watson, an attorney for the Hawkwood Energy, said they plan to respond to the suit within 20 days and continue to be responsive to the homeowner. Watson added there will be lots of scientific evidence for the case and experts that will work on studying it.

Allen is ready for their day in court.

"Just not knowing what her future holds, you know she worked her entire life with her late husband to be able to buy this house and being forced out if it has had quite an impact on her," said Allen.

"We don't want to file a lawsuit. Thats kind of a last resort but we felt it was necessary at this point because were just not able to resolve it otherwise up to this point. You know weve spent a lot of time and money out here investigating," said Allen.

An initial sample taken by the Conroe Fire Department found refined hydrocarbons in the gas. Things you would see in products like gasoline.

But the homeowner's attorney said their results haven't exactly matched and point to natural gas as the substance.

A trial date isn't expected anytime soon.

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Bryan homeowner still unable to live in home more than one year after gas leak - KBTX

Sponsored byFBC Mortgage, LLC:This six-bedroom, five-bath home in College Park comes with an office, a Florida room, and tons of upgrades.

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Other features include new interior doors, new gutters, new sprinkler system, and the large oak tree in the front yard was just trimmed.

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House of the Day: 5/3 College Park home asking $644500 - Bungalower

LAWRENCE The University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications is kicking off the spring semester with ribbon-cutting ceremonies to celebrate the completion of a multimillion-dollar renovation project of Stauffer-Flint Hall.

The school closed the building in May 2019 to complete the nearly $5 million project. On Tuesday, Jan. 21, the first day of spring classes, the school plans a ribbon-cutting ceremony for journalism school students, faculty and staff at 10:30 a.m. On Thursday, Jan. 23, the entire KU community is invited to a grand reopening ceremony. Starting at 3 p.m., Chancellor Douglas A. Girod will give remarks, and donors of the project will be recognized.

The renovation project focused on creating a new plaza and front door and extensive remodeling of the first and third floors of Stauffer-Flint Hall. The first floor, which housed classrooms, a conference room and faculty offices, will be the new home for the University Daily Kansan, Media Crossroads and KUJH News. Those student media organizations had been located in the Dole Human Development Center and Anschutz Library.

The renovated first floor also will include state-of-the-art media technology, a 39-foot ticker that will display news and events, and large screen monitors that will broadcast national, local and student media news programs. The main floor also will feature flex space designed for students to gather and study, including bar-level seating along the north wall facing Jayhawk Boulevard.

The third floor of Stauffer-Flint, which held tightly configured faculty offices and a conference room, was renovated into an open-concept classroom space and an updated conference room.

The renovation project also addressed some critical maintenance and safety needs for the building, which is more than 120 years old. The elevator and HVAC system were replaced, and a fire sprinkler system has been installed.

The last major renovation of Stauffer-Flint Hall was in 1982, and it was time for an update, according to Dean Ann Brill.

The remodel is a wonderful metaphor for journalistic training, Brill said. Throughout the building, you can see the pillars that held up these walls for more than a century, much like the traditional values we continue to teach. However, there is a new entrance that reflects the many changes in media that make them more accessible to all.

The Kansas Board of Regents approved the creation of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Public Information in 1945, and in 1952 the school moved into the building, which was then named Fowler Shops. In 1955, it was renamed Flint Hall to honor Leon Daddy Flint, who served as chairman of the Department of Journalism from 1916 to 1941. In 1983, Flint Hall was renamed Stauffer-Flint Hall to honor Oscar S. Stauffer, founder of Stauffer Communications Inc. and longtime supporter of the school. Stauffer donated $1 million in 1979 for the buildings renovation and academic programs.

The current renovation is funded by private dollars and university deferred-maintenance funds.

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Stauffer-Flint Hall reopens next week with ribbon cutting to celebrate completion of renovation - KU Today

The first project in the series, called Frame 283 and located at 283 Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill, is an industrial-style five-story building with 10 apartments, all with two bedrooms and either one or two bathrooms, and private outdoor space.

Spruce boards, which are glued at perpendicular angles to make thick beams called cross-laminated timber, are clearly visible in columns, beams, walls and ceilings. And the veins, knots and whorls in the wood wont always be concealed behind Sheetrock or paint.

But not every surface at Frame 283 is wood. Some walls are made of unfinished concrete, giving the building, which has open-air staircases, an almost work-in-progress look. Some pipes are exposed, too. Other building features include an 80-panel solar system, a shared roof deck and a bike room.

While wood can be pricier than concrete, labor costs can be much less, developers say. In fact, because Frame 283s cross-laminated timber arrived in prefabricated sections, it took only about two weeks to put up its main structure, in what might traditionally be a six-week project, said Ms. Wilson, of Frame Home, who would not divulge the development cost. The land, city records show, cost $6 million in 2015.

The building, which began marketing in the fall and expects to open this winter, is priced near the top of the market.

Rents start at more than $4,000 a month, which is high for Clinton Hill, where market-rate two-bedrooms have averaged $3,300 a month, according to the brokerage Ideal Properties Group. But two-bedrooms in next-door Fort Greene average $4,100, the brokerage said.

See more here:
Five Stories Tall and Made of Wood - The New York Times

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Following the Grenfell tragedy, a housing association did not remove the potentially unsafe cladding of five high-rise housing blocks for social housing in Trafford on the advice of the Greater Manchester fire chiefs.

In November, the Trafford Housing Trust admitted that the replacement of the ACM cladding, which was classified as the main cause of the spread of fire during the Grenfell fire, was delayed.

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The cladding comprised around 15 percent of the five Trafford blocks.

The panel replacement should be completed on all five blocks by February this year. In the case of three blocks, however, the problematic cladding was removed and completely replaced. However, work on the two remaining blocks should not be completed until this summer.

The five skyscrapers in Stretford and Old Trafford are:

Iain Wallace, head of property management at Trafford Housing Trust, said at a council meeting that the Greater Manchester fire chiefs asked them not to remove the cladding because the exposure of the polyethylene to the aluminum panels was classified as flammable and flammable became dangerous when it was covered up.

Mr Wallace said the hope was to complete the work in 2018, shortly after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, but this advice had delayed the move process.

He said: Immediately after (Grenfell), we brought in contractors to work with us to remove (the cladding) as soon as possible. We were hoping that this would be completed in 2018, but we received a notification from Greater Manchester Fire and emergency services, which did not require you to remove a panel until you found a suitable technical solution to replace it.

Initially we thought we would strip the towers and essentially leave them open until an alternative is available. However, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service advised us not to do this.

He added that since then, further delays have been caused by difficulties in getting experts, scaffolding and contractors to complete the work.

The Stretford Empress Court is managed by the Trafford Housing Trust(Image: Google Maps)

The trust admitted that there was an arbitrary decision by other organizations to remove the ACM cladding from their buildings, but at that time the trust was receiving advice daily and keeping residents at the heart of the process. ,

Authorities in the south east of England who removed aluminum plates were criticized for this.

Since the cladding had been replaced on three of the five blocks in the past two and a half years, 18 residents were temporarily relocated so that the work could take place.

Housing Trust chiefs said residents were absolutely fantastic and incredibly patient and incredibly understanding during the trial.

The central government is expected to cover the panel replacement bill in Trafford and elsewhere in the UK through a grant funding program so residents do not have to pay for the process.

Representatives of trust also confirmed that watch watches are in operation around the clock in all five high-rise buildings.

Two firefighters patrol the five high-rise buildings every hour on the hour to remove flammable objects. In the event of a fire, a horn would sound to initiate the evacuation of the building. Something that trusted representatives said was very well received by residents.

In consultations with the residents of high-rise buildings, a ratio of 60 to 40 was determined in order to retrofit sprinkler systems in all of the districts high-rise buildings.

Iain Wallis confirmed that funds would be provided to cover all of the costs associated with this sprinkler system if installed after a decision by the Board of Trustees and after further consultation with the residents.

A decision on the sprinkler system is expected to be made in March 2020 at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Trafford Housing Trust, which includes former Council President Coun Sean Anstee and current Council President Coun Andrew Western.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services said: Since the Grenfell Tower fire, GMFRS has worked with housing providers like the Trafford Housing Trust to develop renovation solutions.

No enforcement notices have been served on the Trafford Housing Trust and a work program has been drawn up.

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In five high-rise buildings, the potentially unsafe cladding was not removed immediately by Grenfell's instructions from the fire chiefs - magviral

SAN DIEGO The Board of Supervisors Wednesday backed stricter building requirements to lessen wildfire damage.

Supervisors Jim Desmond and Dianne Jacob proposed the changes to the building codes, which she said will make the county a model for fire protection in California and save lives.

Its not a matter of if, but when, when the next major wildfire hits this region, Jacob said.

The last two major blazes in San Diego, in 2003 and 2007, took the lives of 17 people and numerous animals, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

No one in the audience spoke for or against the proposed requirements prior to the supervisors unanimous vote. A final reading of the ordinance, under county policy, will take place at the boards Jan. 29 meeting.

The ordinance requires:

Last March, the board directed Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer to develop a plan that would strengthen wildfire resiliency in new homes in moderate- to high-fire areas in the unincorporated communities.

County staffers also informed the Building Industry Association, County Building Innovation Group, community planning groups and environmental stakeholders about the proposed changes.

Previous building code changes included automatic fire sprinkler system installations, more defensible space and ignition-resistant construction materials.

Link:
Stricter building codes approved to boost wildfire protection - fox5sandiego.com

Global Sprinkler Systems Market Insights, Forecast to 2026

The report discusses many vital industry facets that influence Global Sprinkler Systems Market industry acutely which includes extensive study of competitive edge, latest advancements, region-wise industry environment, contemporary market and manufacturing trends, leading market contenders, and current consumption tendency of the end user. The report also oversees market size, market share, growth rate, revenue, and CAGR reported previously along with its forecast estimation.

According to Verified Market Research, The Global Sprinkler Systems Market was valued at USD 61.73 Billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 74.54 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 2.38% from 2020 to 2026.

Global Sprinkler Systems Market Analysis Report includesTop CompaniesNelson Irrigation, Valmont, Rain Bird, Orbit Irrigation, EPC Industries, Nelson Irrigation, Lawn Genie, Netafim, STHIL, Irritrol, The TORO company, Jain Irrigation along with their company profile, growth aspects, opportunities, and threats to the market development. This report presents the industry analysis for the forecast timescale. An up-to-date industry details related to industry events, import/export scenario, market share is covered in this report.

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Sprinkler Systems Market Overview and Product Scope 2020 to 2026 - Fusion Science Academy

The citys Department of Buildings will begin enforcing a commercial sprinkler law passed in 2004 requiring all New York City landlords to install the fire prevention equipment.

Despite the 15-year window for property owners to get up to code, it was revealed at a November City Council committee hearing that about 1,100 buildings were still not in compliance with the Local Law 26 and 86 building owners have completely ignored city notifications.

The window officially closed Dec. 1, and all commercial building owners are required to have installed sprinkler systems in their buildings throughout the city, including numerous city owned structures.

Our goal is compliance, said Andrew Rudansky, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings. Building owners who fail to comply with DOB orders regarding these sprinkler requirements may face additional violations, which carry additional associated civil penalties, until they come into compliance.

Buildings officials revealed that 983 buildings have been issued Environmental Control Board violations for non-compliance with the sprinkler requirements. Officials indicate that these buildings are in various stages of compliance with the law, as many are actively engaged in sprinkler installation projects. The violations come with civil penalties of $1,250 which can be waived if building owners certify that they are in compliance with Local Law 26 within 40 days of the issuance.

Some of the more notable buildings on the list include the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange many of the older Wall Street buildings were listed as non-compliant. Some of the city buildings were owned by Department of Corrections, Parks and Education.

Continued noncompliance with these regulations could result in additional fines, with civil penalties of up to $25,000. Buildings will be subject to re-inspection every 60 days which could add to the total monetary damages.

Experts in sprinkler installation told amNewYork full compliance with the law is difficult because older buildings may require expensive asbestos abatement; some businesses might also need to be relocated during renovations.

Installing sprinkler systems can cost upwards of $4 a foot making the installation process very costly for some owners to afford. Once a system is installed, property owners are further required to have an engineer inspect every floor of their building to certify compliance with the law.

In addition to city penalties, commercial owners face liability should there be a fire in their building provided that they are not in code compliance. One expert said, An insurance company might not even want to cover damage or injuries in a fire and that might fall on the owner.

As the city presses demands for sprinkler compliance, the City Council is considering a bill introduced by Queens Councilman Barry Grodenchik, which will require residential buildings 40 feet or taller to have sprinklers installed within 10 years of the bill signing. The bill will be considered in the 2020 session.

While it may be difficult for some landlords to afford sprinklers and problematic in many cases, Grodenchik maintained that it is necessary because the need is so real because 85 percent of fires are in residential buildings and most of the fatalities are residential.

Experts in sprinkler installation say it is nearly impossible to install sprinklers in some residential buildings due to structural issues. In some cases, a standpipe would need to be installed in stairwells to a roof storage tank as street pressure would not accommodate the sprinklers above the third floor.

A standpipe is used by firefighters in stairwells of buildings to stretch lines more closely than a fire hydrant on the street.

Most of those buildings without standpipes were built before 1938, and were not required to have standpipes when they were built.

Building experts say most of those buildings under 75 feet are outside Manhattan and are owned by small owners. One expert said, Bringing water above the third floor with street pressure is unlikely so they would have to install standpipes and water tanks. They could install pumps, but then they would have to install a backup generator in case electric goes out. This for many residential owners would be a financial calamity.

Charles Rizzo, CEO of the Rizzo Group, which specializes in sprinkler consulting for commercial buildings, said the Council needs to conduct more careful deliberations of the consequences of forcing landlords to do this. He recommended that the law only apply to buildings that are 75 feet or higher because they are already retrofitted with standpipes under current law.

This bill was a surprise to the community, Rizzo said. They need to provide alternatives rather than a wholesale solution.

Some of the alternatives include requiring installation of building wide-notification systems and intercoms so that people have enough notice to evacuate in case of a fire.

The new law also presents logistical challenges for the Buildings Department, which has hired 400 additional workers to review hundreds of commercial sprinkler applications.Many landlords are rushing to complete compliance in some form, buildings officials said.

Edward Amador, a spokesman for Councilman Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. who is the chairman of the Housing and Buildings Committee, said Cornegy was concerned about enforcement because they seemed to be under sourced and understaffed and may have problems following through.

Amador pointed to a recent hearing on lead abatement, during which an official from Housing Preservation and Development admitted that in 15 years, the agency wrote just two violations and only because they were forced to by a judge.

Grodenchik said he realized there may be difficulty for some landlords to comply with a residential sprinkler requirements. He said they are considering low interest loans, tax abatements or credits for completing the requirements.

However, insurance companies may not necessarily supporting the legislation with incentives. One expert pointed out that the damage from sprinkler head water to a building can be more expensive than personal injuries and therefore, insurance companies do not offer financial incentives for sprinkler installation.

Jamie McShane, a spokesperson for the Real Estate Board of New York, said the organization is reviewing the legislation.

The FDNY testified last month with the Department of Buildings commissioner about the necessity of sprinklers, and want the law enforced.

Frank Dwyer, FDNY deputy commissioner said, Sprinklers are an important, life-saving tool which help reduce the risk of danger during a fire for both building occupants and firefighters.

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With 1,100+ buildings in violation, NYC sprinkler law could cost owners big - amNY

Permitting issues have delayed Americans Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration from moving its parade floats to new storage facilities on county land.

PLYMOUTH Permitting issues have delayed Americans Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration from moving its parade floats to new storage facilities on county land.

But officials and parade organizers appear to be in agreement on a plan that should get the rolling collection of Americana under wraps by the end of the year.

Parade organizer Olly deMacedo said his group will have to do more work than anticipated before it can start moving floats into the vacant building behind the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. But the project is less than some originally feared and should easily be completed within the new deadline for moving the floats from the former Sears building in Kingston.

DeMacedo met with Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley and Building Inspector Paul McAuliffe Monday to iron out details of the move.

The parade group stored most of its floats at Sears for the last few years, but the building is slated for demotion to make way for residential development. The county came to the rescue just before this years parade, offering to let deMacedo use a building that has sat vacant behind the county jail since 2009.

The building was originally designed to house an indoor firing range for the county law enforcement community, but the plan fell by the wayside after the state took over the jail a decade ago.

The county commissioners agreed to let deMacedo use the building to store floats for the next two years, but the plan didn't go before either Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald or town officials.

McDonald has said he is pleased to help the parade but feared that the building would not meet with town building approval because it was no longer being used for official county business and thus was held to more rigid permitting standards.

The building has a dirt floor and no heat, water or electricity. Further, any building over 7,500 square feet needs a sprinkler system.

Bradley said the building is less than 7,500 square feet, so it will not need the sprinklers or water. But it will require electricity as well as a system to protect the soil from contamination.

DeMacedo said has always been planning to install new doors on the building and will now install electricity as well. He will also begin pouring a concrete floor and will bring in industrial-sized trays to catch fluids that could leak from the floats.

He said the parade organizers are still actively looking for a permanent home for the floats, but are pleased to have temporary storage.

Its good to see the town working together, and were hoping in next few weeks to be getting in place over there, deMacedo said, acknowledging that the situation could have been a lot worse if he had to install sprinklers or drainage. Well do whatever they need us to do to comply and leave a nicer building for the county when were done.

McDonald said he is glad to see the parade will have a place to store the floats in the short run, but noted that the building is not a long-termsolution.

"It'sjust a shell of a building," he said, "sothe quicker they can get those floats intoclimate control thebetter it will be. At the end of the day, I'm glad we can help. I wish we'd been consulted, but I'mglad we could help."

Read more:
It needs improvements. But Americas Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration will still move floats to county property - Wicked Local Plymouth

Read: Astronomers cant decide what the sun is made of

To ponder the unknowns feels like sitting with an inquisitive toddler. Why is the suns outer atmosphere, the corona, so hot? Where does the solar wind come from? Why does it shoot out of the corona like that? What makes the sun flare up sometimes, shooting even more excited particles out into space? These are some of the questions that scientists hope Parker can answer before its mission ends in 2025, with a fiery plunge right into the sun.

NASA released the first batch of results this week, published across four papers in Nature. The findings come from measurements of the corona, which is, remarkably, hotter than the surface itself. The corona extends millions of miles from the surface into space. The region is only visible to the naked eye during a solar eclipse, when the moon casts a shadow on the Earth and blocks out the sun, leaving only a golden ring hanging in a darkened sky.

The corona unleashes powerful streams of high-energy particles, known as the solar wind, which can be felt all across the solar system, and far beyond Pluto. The data from the Parker probe show that the solar wind is far more turbulent near the sun than in our own vicinity, tens of millions of miles away. The wind drags the suns magnetic field out into space, and even bends the field enough for magnetic forces to completely flip around for a few minutes at a time, pointing back at the sun itself instead of into space. The researchers werent expecting the strength of this effect, as well as how often it seems to occur.

Scientists also found that shifts in the suns magnetic field speed up the particles flowing away from the sun much faster than any of their models had predicted. Astronomers have spent decades probing the depths of countless distant stars in the cosmos, some of them billions of light-years away, but their own still keeps secrets from them.

Read: Where is our suns twin?

Scientists havent been able to make such close-up detections with instruments on Earth, or even with earlier missions to the sun, which never got as close. For studying the sun, proximity is everything. Imagine that we live halfway down a waterfall, and the water is always going past us, and we want to know, what is the source of the waterfall up at the top? says Stuart Bale, a scientist at the University of California at Berkeley, and the lead on a Parker instrument that examines the solar wind by measuring magnetic fields. Is there an iceberg melting up there? Is there a sprinkler system? Is there a lake, a hole in the ground? And its very hard to tell from halfway down. So what Parker has done is got us closer than ever to the sun.

At every close approach, the Parker probe will also get closer to pulling off one of the toughest feats of robotic space exploration. It sounds counterintuitive, but its actually harder to reach the sun than it is to leave the solar system altogether. The suns gravity is always tugging at everything around it, from giant planets to tiny moons, but those objects are also looping around the sun at great speeds, which keeps them from falling toward it. To get to Mars, you only need to increase slightly your orbital speed. If you need to get to the sun, you basically have to completely slow down your current momentum, Yanping Guo, the mission-design and navigation manager for the Parker Solar Probe, explained to me.

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The Mystery at the Center of the Solar System - The Atlantic