| Over-Development
and Fires |
| The fire that destroyed or damaged more than 60 living units
under construction at the Townes at Herndon Center Monday
night, causing at least $7.5 million in damage, points out
several dangers and concerns surrounding new construction
today. |
| First, the over-built, 13-acre site was a disaster waiting
to happen. As was apparent from this week's fire, when one
unit burns, it is likely that several units will burn, threatening
not only the living units in that complex, but the established
homes surrounding the area. |
| It is indeed fortunate that no one was living there at the
time, and that no one in the occupied homes in the area suffered
physical injury. However, the emotional stress those homeowners
felt is probably greater than we know, and they must have
concerns about the future. |
| Why is it that we feel we must develop every corner of our
area? More people bring more housing problems, more traffic,
more roads and concrete, more sewage, more stress on our already
overpopulated schools, more trash, more pollution, and more
demands on police, fire and public service departments. |
| What is baffling to me is that more security was not in
place at the Townes at Herndon Center, especially since so
many arson fires have taken place so close to that site over
the past year or so. |
| Only a year ago, on June 4, 2000, a five-alarm fire, the
first in many years, just south of the Dulles Toll Road, destroyed
an under-construction town house complex which resulted in
more than $10 million in damage. The cause of that fire has
not been determined. |
| More than 18 fires in Eastern Loudoun and Western Fairfax
counties have been determined to be arson- related, and Fairfax
County fire officials are investigating whether the Townes
at Herndon Center fire Monday night is related to those. |
| Many of the fires have been set when the buildings were
under roof, with no walls yet installed, and with all framing
lumber vulnerable to a fire that would quickly spread. While
the partially finished buildings were on fire Monday night,
smaller structures facing Center Street burned to the ground
and were extinguished by ground-based fire crews. |
| As we report today in The Observer, the rest of the construction
site contained smaller structures or large stacks of plywood
and other materials that were to be used in construction.
|
| Those materials eventually caught fire as well, turning
about half of the site into an inferno that encompassed several
hundred yards. |
| Larry Johnson, battalion chief with Fairfax County, says
in The Observer today that about 75 fire-rescue units and
150 personnel responded to the alarms. Nearly 50 pieces of
fire machinery from Centreville, McLean, Vienna and other
stations throughout the region pulled in to fight the fire,
including 13 engine units, six ladder units, one heavy rescue
and five emergency medical vehicles. |
| Johnson said there were natural gas lines on the property,
and firefighters were concerned about natural gas posing a
danger to nearby residents, but the gas in the destroyed buildings
had been consumed by the fire and posed no threat. |
| Johnson said the gas caused the fire to spread rapidly,
but buildings of this nature are also vulnerable to fire because
at this stage in construction they are simple wood structures
with plenty of ventilation. |
| "What you have there basically is a lumber yard three stories
in the air," Johnson said in today's Observer. |
| While the fire investigation should be left to the experts
and to law enforcement officials, it is hard to believe that
all of these fires could be separate, random events. The events
and situations are just too similar to dismiss. |
| It seems to me that mandatory security should be in place
at all times during the construction of these types of crowded
developments. Even if security officers may not be able to
apprehend would-be arsonists, it certainly would be a deterrent
and fires would be called in quickly. |
| It would be a small price for developers to pay, would protect
their property, and would give neighbors a certain peace of
mind. |
| We were lucky this time. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
