Historical Industrial Fire: Imperial Foods

The fire began due to pressurization of fluid leaking from a hydraulic line. The leak, in combination with heat, caused immediate vapor and flames. This ignition transpired into heavy smoke making it a serious hazard very quickly. When workers attempted to escape they realized that the designated fire escapes were blocked and the doors were locked. It was common for the doors to the facility to be locked during working hours, but this often made the workers uncomfortable.

Upon further research, it was discovered that Imperial Foods had been in business 11 years without a proper inspection. The federal government was blamed at first for not enforcing the building codes and standards.

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Authorities Seek Cause of CA Fuel Fire

A tank burns as fire breaks out at a refinery in Crockett, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. A fire burning at an oil storage facility in the San Francisco Bay Area prompted a hazardous materials emergency that led authorities to order the residents of two communities to shelter in place and stay inside with all windows and doors closed. Contra Costa Fire Department spokesman Steve Hill said that an hour into battling the blaze, firefighters seemed to be making progress and were continuing to keep adjacent tanks cooled with water. (Anda Chu/San Jose Mercury News via AP)

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Building Up Downtown, Part Two

Downtown has experienced an unprecedented development boom over the past two decades, with new high-rise residential and commercial developments ushering in a new era of the Central City.

The historic Herald Examiner Building is expected to be ready for Arizona State University students by late 2020.

(photo by Gary Leonard)

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Door Systems at the 2019 ARC Conference

In November Door Systems participated in the 2019 ARC Conference. This was a prestigious 3 day event located in Hollywood, Florida.

Only top executives and decision makers from 100 of the largest and most influential Architectural firms in the region were invited.

Door Systems presentation of the integrated door system and smoke & fire curtains made a lasting impression on all participants. Architects made it clear that the unique features and benefits of the Door Systems product lines would fit well into their projects.

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Metropolis Tower Converts to Apartments

One of Downtown’s mega projects is turning its final, in-construction tower into apartments. Metropolis, at Eighth and Francisco streets, comprises four high rises, three of which are finished. The last, a 58-story edifice, planned to house 685 condos, but those units have now been converted to apartments.

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The High Street Lofts Fire

By Braden Peter One of the largest and most devastating fires the Petersburg (VA) Fire Rescue and Emergency Services (PFRES) experienced occurred on the morning of January 16, 2018. The structure fire at 424 High Street taxed our firefighters to their breaking point as they faced perhaps the largest fire in the city’s history. The Building The fire started in the old Seward Trunk and Bag Company at 510 High Street and ultimately reached a fifth alarm. This mega manufacturing plant and warehouse, built in 1878, was then the largest building of its type.

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Updated Designs for Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro Station

In 2014, construction crews began work on one of the region’s most ambitious transportation projects, the $1.75 billion Regional Connector.

Meant to weave together three different rail lines to allow riders to ride from East Los Angeles to Santa Monica, or Long Beach to Azusa without switch trains, the massive 2.1-mile subway project beneath the streets of Downtown will see the construction of three new rail stations, one of which is the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station at First Street and Central Avenue.

Construction has been ongoing at the site for nearly five years, but soon, the community can expect to see a whole new round of work at the 1.2-acre site.

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Industrial Fires

An industrial fire is a type of industrial disaster involving a conflagration which occurs in an industrial setting. Industrial fires often, but not always, occur together with explosions. They are most likely to occur in facilities where there is a lot of flammable material present.

Such material can include petroleum, petroleum products such as petrochemicals, or natural gas. Processing flammable materials such as hydrocarbons in units at high temperature and/or high pressure makes the hazards more severe. Facilities with such combustible material include oil refineries, tank farms, natural gas processing plants, and chemical plants, particularly petrochemical plants. Such facilities often have their own fire departments for firefighting. Sometimes large amounts of dust or powder are vulnerable to combustion and their ignition can cause dust explosions.

Onni Sets Start Date for Times Mirror Square Redevelopment

The Onni Group plans to replace two buildings at Times Mirror Square with a pair of high-rise residential towers. A trio of older buildings would be saved and repurposed.

(image by A.C. Martin)

At this month’s Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Planning and Land Use Management committee meeting, the Onni Group revealed a new schedule and details for its major Civic Center project.

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Minneapolis high-rise fire

A 3-alarm fire which broke out on the 14th floor of a public housing high-rise in a heavily immigrant neighborhood of Minneapolis early Wednesday killed five people and injured three, according to reports.

FOX 9 reported that four of the victims were found on the 14th floor and pronounced dead on the scene; the fifth victim was found in a stairway and died in a hospital.

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