So around 5:30 or so, I mentioned briefly the breaking news of Brian O'Neill's Millenium Development in Conshy (The Brownfields event that brought George Bush to Conshohocken around 2002).
Well, it's still not out yet at post time. Why did it go up so fast? Were there sprinklers? Fire walls? Is this the same kind of plan that would have been implemented in Lower Merion in the ROHO/Rockhill Road area as well as that Connelly Container site? It is what? Eight alarms? A couple hundred people are now homeless and some don't have their pets? Will the notoriously and historically interesting Borough of Conshohocken have any culapbility when the dust settles and the fire is but ashes? This sure makes you question the wisdom of local governments that want to approve all these go up fast developments that pack 'em in like sardines, doesn't it?
Interestingly enough, another blog on this website posted a story about this project in October 2007. They discussed it on PhillyBlog too.
So how many firemen from our parts responded? And is it true getting the right water to the fire has been a problem? Seriously, this is awful. O'Neill is going to have millions of headaches over this, and this fire is too big to disappear in the news. But what dies this mean for other municipalities like Lower Merion who have approved new O'Neill projects and have existing O'Neill projects? This kind of disaster is an empire crippler...
Posted on Wed, Aug. 13, 2008
Burning buildings are part of O’Neill’s real estate empire
By Miriam Hill, Dan Hardy
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
The RiverWalk at Millennium complex along the Schuylkill River belongs to a real estate empire J. Brian O'Neill built over two decades, often turning old industrial properties into trendy offices and apartments.
O'Neill had sold some of the Millennium project but was developing the part where the fire started, called Stables at Millennium, expected to open next winter and including high-end corporate residences called the Luxion.
The RiverWalk project was at the center of the revitalization of Conshohocken, once a factory town on a dirty river that now gleams with rows of high-rise office buildings.....Riverwalk at Millennium is an upscale, 60-acre apartment community built between 2000 and 2005 by O'Neill Properties Group of King of Prussia. The $51.8 million project was built on a former industrial site along the Schuylkill River, according to a Web site for the complex.
The first apartments in the 375-unit complex were rented in May 2005. The buildings include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom loft apartments ranging from 684 square feet to 1,300 square feet and featuring nine-foot high ceilings, oversized six-foot windows, walk-in closets and underground parking.
O'Neill sold Riverwalk at Millennium for approximately $87.5 million to JP Morgan, according to a 2006 news release.
6ABC: Conshohocken Inferno
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - August 13, 2008- (WPVI) -- A multi-alarm fire is raging in the 200 block of Washington Street in Conshohocken.
The fire broke out around 5:00 p.m. at an unoccupied building at the Riverwalk at Millenium apartments, a $51 million upscale apartment complex. The fire spread rapidly and destroyed the building.
The fire has since spread to occupied buildings. The fire, as of 9:00 p.m., has not been said to be under control.
In all, five buildings are burning.
Officials tell Action News, 375 people have been displaced and they are being taken to a local fire department. Arrangements are being made for them.
Two people have been injured during this fire, one resident and one firefighter. Those injuries are said to be minor.
The smoke was visible from the Schuylkill Expressway.
Montgomery County Public Safety Director Tom Sullivan says everyone has been evacuated. But he says the area is a former industrial region that doesn't have the firefighting infrastructure usually found in residential areas. He says it isn't helping that the fire broke out between railroad tracks and a river, making it hard to get to. He says firefighters have cut down fences to get access...
Posted on Wed, Aug. 13, 2008
Eight-alarm fire rages in Conshohocken
By Jennifer Lin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
Firefighters from all across the Pennsylvania suburbs raced to Conshohocken this evening to stop a massive eight-alarm fire that consumed an unoccupied luxury apartment house, before spreading to four other waterfront properties.
One firefighter who suffered from smoke inhalation and a young woman who collapsed were taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital.
The fire broke out at 4:30 p.m. at the RiverWalk at Millennium complex on the Schuykill. The high-end development, a catalyst in the revival of the once-blighted Conshohocken riverfront, was built by developer Brian O'Neill.
O'Neill was on the scene of the fire, handing out bottles of water to firefighters.
He looked disheveled in his white shirt and black pants. Asked about the fire, he said he would have no comment until he figured out what was going on.
NBC10 Condo Blaze Displaces Hundreds, Injures 4
At Least 30 Fire Companies Respond To Fire
POSTED: 5:19 pm EDT August 13, 2008
UPDATED: 10:19 pm EDT August 13, 2008
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. -- A community of condos burned down Wednesday afternoon....Brian Wasilauski, NBC10 News photographer, lives in the 60-acre apartment community.
He said fire crews evacuated residents around 5 p.m. and some apartment employees helped rescue animals from the complex.
The Septa R6 line was suspended in both directions, but later reopened with limited service.
Officials said Washington Street between Fayette and Cherry streets was closed, while Hector Street was closed between Harry and Cherry streets.
Elm Street was closed between Fayette and Cherry streets, while Fayette was shut down between Route 23 and 1st Street.
The fast-moving fire at the luxury apartment development raged for hours, growing into an eight-alarm blaze by evening. Other occupied buildings in the apartment complex were evacuated.
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Updates!- see here for more photos: J. Doloff-Haubert Photos from Conshohocken Fire Scene/Evening
Also:
PA Watercooler: Fire Rages Out of Control In Conshy August 13 2008
Filed under Counties - Montco, Pennsylvania by BillShaw
Posted on Thu, Aug. 14, 2008
Fire destroys Conshohocken apartment complex
By Diane Mastrull, Jennifer Lin and Bob Moran
Inquirer Staff Writers
More photos found here like:
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permalinkCan you imagine if this had happened in the middle of the night while everyone living there was sleeping? It is very lucky that no one was killed. If I remember correctly about 8 or 9 years ago Main Line Life ran a story on our local fire companies concerning a standing order not to enter or climb up on any roof of timber framed, trussed Mc-mansions or condo/apartment complex's due the extreme danger that would put firefighters in - due to both weakness of the roofing systems used, considered weak prior to fire hitting it, and the danger of fast moving fires in creating building collapses.
Isn't that what we just saw here in all respects?
No buildings today should burn that fast. Despite the occupied buildings having sprinkler systems, which are the claims as of today, it did little to slow this fire when it jumped from the construction site over to the fully finished and occupied buildings.
The local gov't approved of the codes that allowed timber frame, probably trussed, construction to be built in a very dense fashion - there are some serious questions here if this is the current state of development for new construction anywhere.
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permalinkYes - thankfully nobody was seriously hurt. I feel terrible for all the displaced people who lost everything.
It also really surprised me was how fast this fire spread - and to completely separate buildings. Makes one really wonder about the type of building materials used and how well internal sprinkler systems work.
I assume O'Neill followed all required building codes, but are they enough? Hopefully the township will look into this with all the development LM has going on or something could turn really deadly. O'Neill is currently looking to build on Mill Creek and Rock Hill roads and the Ardmore development will be massive and very condensed.
I would hope the townhip will make sure building materials are used in a fashion in Lower Merion developments so that fires do not spead so fast.
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permalinkO'Neill is not building anything in Ardmore that I heard of, but yes it does make you wonder about new construction in general. Those buildings went up like match sticks held together with chewing gum.
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permalinkYeah, when I referred to the massive Ardmore development I was referring to Dranoff. My guess is all these developers pretty much use the same building materials and use similar structural designs.
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permalinkHere's the latest:
Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Acetylene torches believed cause of Conshohocken blaze
By Diane Mastrull and Larry King
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
And then there is this ---amazing isn't it how they can say what it's not so fast?
Posted on Thu, Aug. 14, 2008
No arson at Consho blaze, say officials
By Jeff Gammage and Joelle Farrell
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Dog saved in Conshohocken
By Bob Moran
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Devastated pet owners hope for news
By Karen Langley and Kathy Boccella
Inquirer Staff Writers
Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
Bereft Riverwalk residents plead for answers
By Kathy Boccella
Inquirer Staff Writer
This is just too horrible for words. This whole thing had better not get swept under a rug. Those poor people. Anyone know if any non profits are taking donations for these people?
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permalinkThe Conshsohocken fire impacted our environmental community deeply, and we are horrified at the fast raging fire that Rhode Island has endured. We only hope that you in the save Ardmore Coalition will follow the investigation carefully, and that the Philly Inquirer will put an objective staff member such as Steve Peoples to follow it. Here in Boston, for Belmont, we had hoped for the line item in the Environmental Bond Bill, 1.6 billion that Governor Patrick signed yesterday, would keep in the protection of our rare silver maple forest which was an acquisition line item. Unfortunately, the Governor chose to veto the line item, attesting to the real estate lobby and the state housing agency. We have seen the scanty and devious submissions by his design firm, and have raised over 50 thousand with excellent legal representation. We are still going on this with a hydrologist who has questioned his mounding and infiltration plans. His fire
plans will NOW be scrutinized once again.
I hope you all will keep the plaintiffs and our environmental organizations abreast of your work, and we are so pleased that so many blogs were written for us to follow the proceedings.
Best of luck. I will be thinking about those hundreds who have lost their homes and much of their life earnings and security from this fiasco, and pray that you all will
be able to make headway from this tragedy, to keep these type of developers out of your communities as well.
Ellen from Boston
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permalink"And then there is this ---amazing isn't it how they can say what it's not so fast?"
Yes, I find this hard to swallow also. Of the interviews with O'neil on the tube I find it hard to understand how he thinks that the fire did not burn quickly and that due to all the safety precautions everything worked the way it was supposed to and everyone got out. Did he not see all of Conshsohocken going up in flames or that it was an 8 alarmer, the most alarms one can have, or that close to 400 people were displaced - how can he think everything worked properly? He was interviewed about whether workers were on site or not and he was pretty clear in stating, "I know that no workers were on site and that the site was inspected before the workers had left for the day." I guess he was wrong, hum.
Very sad...
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permalinkDear Ellen,
Thanks for your comment from far away in New England. One *small* correction: The Save Ardmore Coalition did NOT write this post, an individual blogger, with blogging rights, much like yourself, chose to cover the issue.
Please write again. I just googled you and your environmental group in Newton, MA is amazing.
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permalinkMore on lawsuit city: more lawyers jump in, sensing water is fine - one is Delco political hack with familiar name:
Posted on Wed, Aug 27, 2008
After fire, a second lawsuit now filed
By Margaret Gibbons
Isn't it interesting that NONE of these lawyers have the balls to challenge government on possible code deficiencies?
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