Essay about Station Fire

By the time John Orr was convicted of four counts of murder for the South Pasadena hardware store fire, he had already served six years in prison. Orr was convicted of three counts of arson. At the end, Orr was convicted using his very own signature homemade incendiary device. Fellow firefighters began suspecting that the arsonist was one of their own after conference of arson investigators. During the conference period, an oddly large amount of fire broke out. During that time fires broke out in fabric shops, drugstores, and craft shops. At a craft shop in Bakersfield, California a fire broke out in a display of dried flowers. At the scene, investigators found charred remnants of what appeared a simple incendiary device — a filter-tipped cigarette and matches, held together with a rubber band. One of the devices was partially wrapped in yellow paper (Bovsun, 2014). Though many of the investigator believe this was the work of an expert attending the arson conference, it could not be proven.

     The fire spread from the O’Learys’ barn to the yards nearby. Soon it was spreading throughout the neighborhood. William Lee, a neighbor a block away, saw the fire and ran to Bruno Goll’s drugstore to turn in the fire alarm. Bruno Goll refused to turn in the alarm because he said the fire truck had already gone past. So instead of arguing, Lee went home to his family. At the courthouse the lookout on duty saw smoke, but thought nothing of it, thinking it was just Saturday's fire and there was no reason to be alarmed. Then he looked up and noticed it was a different fire and had his assistant strike the Box 342 for the fire department. Soon fire trucks were at the scene and attempted to put out the fire. The fire department’s Chief Marshal, Robert A. Williams got the engines to circle the fire to contain it. They got as close to the fire as they could until their arm hair was being burned and their

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find a building that does not have exit signs or fire extinguishers in America. Whether in a university or at the work place, exit signs and fire safety instructions can easily be found by anybody. Fire drills are regularly practiced to ensure the least amount of casualty will occur if something goes wrong. However, a hundred years ago safety issues were barely taken into considerations and safety regulations were most of the time inexistent, as illustrates the terrible fire that happened a hundred years ago at the Triangle

In the days after the fire, there were considerable efforts to assign and avoid blame on the part of the band, the nightclub owners, the manufacturers and distributors of the foam material and pyrotechnics, and

The Local, State and Federal agencies were called to investigate the Station Nightclub fire incident and they found many issues. The polyurethane foam that was on the interior walls was the major factor in the Station Nightclub fire. It was easily ignited and also contributed to a faster fire spread within the building. According to NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, the interior finish is required to be Class A or B for general assembly areas with occupant loads of more than 300. It has been calculated that the number of occupants at the Station Nightclub was around 440-458 people, obviously well over this limit. The ignition of polyurethane foam gave out a magnitude of smoke and heat in such a short period of time and created mass chaos, thus resulting in a crowd-wide panic towards the initial entry point. Also NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, section 13.2.3.6.1 states that the main entrance/exit shall be of a width that accommodates one-half of the total occupant load and shall be at the level of exit discharge or shall connect to a stairway or ramp leading to a street. If the owner of The Station Nightclub would have

“They were trying to get under the foam, but to no avail," he said. "They were human torches." The fire quickly spread eastward along Avenue “Y” towards 5th Street. Viewing the unfolding horror before him, Commissioner Rizzo ordered two more alarms, five additional rescue squads, and the recall of all companies which had previously been released from the fire grounds throughout the day. On these orders the fire alarm room transmitted the seventh and eighth alarms. As the fire had been placed under control nearly eight hours earlier, firefighters in stations across the city knew that the unthinkable had occurred as these additional

Facts: A fire was evolved on September 23, 1981 in a log cabin due to a hot plate. The hot plate was left on with an accelerant and kerosene near by. The owner of the cabin, Henry Xavier Kennedy was convicted of Arson as he obtained an insurance policy for $40K on the cabin five days prior to this fire and police found evidence that the construction business owned by Mr. Kennedy was losing money, and Mr. Kennedy's alibi was insufficient to eliminate him as a suspect.

The horrific Chicago Fire devastated Chicago, Illinois on October 8, 1871, continuing until October 10, 1871. Hundreds of lives and thousands of homes were claimed by the fire (Duis 435). Many were left without a single possession, causing them to start over on their lives completely. Although for some this would have been bad, for others, it meant a new start for a better life. It gave criminals a chance to clean up their life and go back to their families. The cause of the Chicago Fire of 1871 is still unknown, although it left much devastation until Martial Law took over, resulting in the city patriotically rebounding back.

There is some dispute to the cause of the fire, but most believe it was set by three inmates who intended to cause a distraction during dinner time, so as to make an escape in the commotion. Instead, they mistimed the ignition device which didn’t ignite until they were all locked up for the night (Latta). This idea was later cemented as the cause when two of the three men hung themselves from grief. There are still some, however, that believe the fire was a tragic accident and the prison officials used the three inmates as an excuse to avoid blame

The fire, he said, started when sparks from the cutting of metal on a van inside the business ignited fuel on the floor. The van was located in the bay closest the residence, which is attached.

Prior to the fire at the Station nightclub, a crowd of over 400 people was gathered to see a concert with Great White headling. At 11:07 PM, the lights inside the club were dimmed in preparation for the headliner band. When the band got on stage, multi-colored lights for the performance were activated for aesthetic effect. Additionally four pyrotechnic "gerbs" were ignited to get the crowd excited (Grosshandler, Bryner, Madrzykowski, & Kuntz, 2005, p. 2-1).

Thousands of fires occur on a yearly basis throughout the United States. Whether it is forest fires, house fires, or any other event that involves uncontrollable flames, the outcome will always be the same; high amounts of destruction and physical damage. When fire emergencies occur, responding to the incident may not be much of a complication as apposed to determining the source from where the fire started or what triggered its behavior, which is truly the challenge. In order to do so, a fire investigator has to be present at the scene of the fire after it has been eliminated. The investigator, after reviewing any possible marks or behavior trails, will conclude if the incident was indeed an accident or intentional, thus making it an act

Less than 5 minutes after that phrase being yelled , the whole amphitheater had caught on fire and was producing uncontrollable flames as high as the sky light. Metal rods, chunks of debris and pieces of glass were flying and dropping

Observation: Expired fire extinguisher was found in the backroom. (A ticket was open during the visit (C6054115)

With all of the different reasons for setting arson fires, as well as the large variance in profiles of arsonists, investigating them can be difficult. This difficulty is compounded by the amount of evidence than can be destroyed by the act of arson. Arson investigators must begin by trying to find the point of origin; a task that can be made very difficult by tossing aside the debris and damaged items while the fire is being fought (Swanson, et al. 2006). If arson is suspected, the point of origin can be a deciding factor in declaring a fire intentional, especially if the fire began in the center of the room