Posted on 01/09/2017 3:23:14 AM PST by Freedom of Speech Wins
More than 30 dead in fire at artists’ warehouse in California | At least 36 people have died after a fire broke out in a warehouse that was home to an artists’ collective in Oakland, California. According to The Art Newspaper, the fire began during a party at the complex on Friday night, engulfing the entire building. The warehouse, known as the ‘Ghost Ship’, housed multiple studios where artists produced work in a variety of media. The New York Times reported on Sunday that the premises had been under investigation by health and safety officials for code violations: the property had a permit to operate as a warehouse, but not as a party venue or residence.
https://www.apollo-magazine.com/more-than-30-dead-after-fire-in-artists-warehouse/
Now all that bric a brac everywhere, and none of them said, hey let's just build a pile of soft shit - seat cushions, probably styrofoam crap everywhere - over the side, jump, and roll. Broken arm or leg at the worst.
Are you joking? I hope you’re joking, though it seems a strange topic to joke about.
I understand what you are writing. It assumes that people are thinking clearly in a situation like this.
The part that you might be missing is that most of those people were dead or unconscious before the fire got near them. I am sure the floor was full of smoke and heat. No one will last long in that condition.
There are a lot of things a person “could” have done. But unless you practice that stuff, you will never think of it at the time.
It was FAST, pitch black with no lights, panic, almost immediately PEOPLE COULD NOT BREATHE ... there no time to thin and plan.
You got out immediately, or you did not get out.
There was no time to plan anything.
Most of the people were drunk and/or stoned. That sort of rules out clear thinking.
As a fire inspector, I run into people on a regular basis who I have to lecture about not putting any impediments to egress in their buildings--blocked and chained up exits, obscured or blocked aisles, etc. "If I see a fire in here, I can get out fast," they say. "No, sir," I say, "You can't. And neither can your customers. You have no idea how fast a building fills with smoke and a fire moves until you've been in one."
Panic does horrible things to your mind. That is why drilling is done so often for people who have to deal with emergencies. In that situation, people would respond without even knowing why—its just been trained into them.
There is something to be said about visualize someone trying to “get at” you whenever you walk into a room. Just a couple of seconds of thought, could save your life.
Fires generate carbon monoxide and, if plastics are present, hydrogen cyanide. All of that happens very quickly. It happens about ten times as fast as it did before plastics became so prevalent.
Firefighters have dropped dead after they’ve gone into a room with little to no smoke without their masks in place.
Warning: Live video of a fire where 89 people died.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.