Arson Awareness week

USFA Announces the 2011 Arson Awareness Week Theme

Contact:

USFA Press Office: (301) 447-1853

Emmitsburg, MD – The United States Fire Administration (USFA) is pleased to partner with the International Association of Arson Investigators; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; USAonWatch; National Association of State Fire Marshals; National Volunteer Fire Council; and the Insurance Committee for Arson Control to announce the theme for the 2011 Arson Awareness Week: Working Together to Extinguish Serial Arson. USFA and its partners will use the week of May 1st to the 7th to focus public attention on the value of a collaborative effort with law enforcement, fire and emergency service departments, and the community to battle serial arsonists.

The goal for this year’s Arson Awareness Week (AAW) is to focus attention on serial arsonists and provide law enforcement, the fire service, and communities with tools and tactics to prevent arson in their city and towns. “A serial arsonist can paralyze a community with fear,” said Glenn Gaines, Deputy United States Fire Administrator. “Each fire feels like a personal assault. Banding together as partners strengthens our resolve and can bring law enforcement, the fire service, and the public together to more effectively fight the crime of arson.”

Many communities across the country are experiencing a rash of serial arson-related fires. Serial arson is defined as an offense committed by fire setters who set three or more fires with a significant cooling off period between the fires. These types of fires are plaguing many rural and urban communities causing significant loss of life and millions of dollars in property damage, adding to the suffering already caused by the current economic climate.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reports that from 2009 – 2010 there were 88 reported serial arson incidents with an aggregate monetary loss of $4.8 million. Arson in residential dwellings accounted for 49 percent of these incidents. The National Fire Protection Association reports that in 2007, three firefighters died and 6,100 were injured during response to intentionally set fires.

According to the USFA’s National Fire Incident Report­ing System (NFIRS) data, from 2004 to 2006 an estimated 210,300 intentionally set fires occurred each year in the United States. Intentionally set fires account for 13 percent of fires responded to by fire departments across the Nation. These fires resulted in an average of approximately 375 deaths, 1,300 injuries, and $1.06 billion in property loss each year.

For more information regarding the 2011 Arson Awareness Week, go to www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw/.

For more information regarding the Fire/Arson and Explosion Investigation curriculum, or any of the other courses offered at the National Fire Academy, go to www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/.

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The United States Fire Administration recommends everyone should have a comprehensive fire protection plan that includes smoke alarms, residential sprinklers, and practicing a home fire escape plan.

Passing of my Dog Cody

This is my friend Cody a 17 1/2 yr old Mixed terrier who loved to roam around my friend Barbra Novasol farm who was also my Biology teacher in High School and life time friend. When barb passed away from Cancer she asked we take care of her pets 2 orange white tabby cats Mom and Doozie and Quippie a Shepard mix and Cody who is now the last to pass away. He went peacefully after having suffering deterioration in his legs . He is now with Barbra and his friends again.

Nothing but LIP SERVICE from the Sprinkler Crowd

2 dead in a Group home for the mentally impaired which had no sprinkler system in Erie Pa.
20 disadvantaged older men with mental or other impairments loose there Personnel care home in Claysville Pa. a home which did not even require a full fire system and no sprinklers.

The sprinkler crowd is so worried about having sprinklers in new homes which are less likely to catch fire because of all the new construction techniques and the sprinkler requirement is actually keeping those home owners who are working class and buying lower end homes from affording them . in Allegheny county to meet all the requirements which require a master plumber, professional plans, flush and flow tests etc. additional tap. Yes you are looking at $8,000.00 to16,000
for an average home to have sprinklers plus another $6000,00 to meet energy and electrical codes
so anyone buying a low end home including those groups like habitat for humanity trying to help build low end homes are screwed.

So what is the real message the sprinkler crowd sending?

If your are old or disabled or mentally deficient or are working poor you are not worthy of
the safety systems new home owners must have. So screw you.

After the 2 deaths in Erie after the personnel care home fires some fatal in other states where are the sprinkler advocates calling for safer housing for our disadvantaged, where are they? they are no where. Not one word not one outraged voice in the news saying this needs to stop we need to get these people out of these old unsafe homes or sprinkler them.

The places that really need sprinklers the most do not have them and never will . Why with all the technology we have available no one has come forward with an effective way to prevent or put our fires in structures ?
Well thank UL the lawyers and everyone else who has there hand out making it so we do not have affordable alternatives to sprinklers.

Think about it what is the real agenda of sprinkler advocates when they are not interested in protecting the disadvantaged and only new home owners ?

Guest Blogger on Sprinklers

We have a guest Blogger Today Mr. Jack Mason CFI , Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator for Municipality of Penn Hills Pa.

Mr. Mason is a Certified Fire Investigator thru the IAAI- International Assoc. Arson Investigators. and a well known expert on fire related issues.

One of which he raises in today's blog.

NEW RESIDENTIAL SPRINKLER LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA

THE FIRE INVESTIGATOR’S AFTERMATH

Hopefully, everyone in Pennsylvania is aware that, as of January 1, 2011, any new single family dwelling built will be required to have a “residential sprinkler system” installed. This is a Code Requirement found in portions of the “Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code”.

You may have heard various “pros” and “cons” regarding such systems, mostly dealing with the overall costs for installation. Within the “Code” community, there are other questions staring to arise. These include such things as:

- WILL there be “plans” submitted” for such installation?

- WHO is going to “review” the Plans submitted?

- WHO will do the installation?

- WHO is going to do the “final inspection of such installation?

- WILL the final installation meet the Code requirements?

- HOW will future changes made by the homeowner and/or Contractor (or others) affect the operation of the sprinkler system?

WHOA!! Wait a minute, what does that have to do us “Fire Investigators”? Well, I have been hearing of several scenarios in the aftermath of a “house fire” with such a “required” sprinkler system installation in place. Let me use one example of a “what if” scenario.

The homeowner is frying a pan of chicken thighs on the kitchen stove, and goes to the living room to watch part of the evening “news”. Suddenly, smoke comes from the kitchen, and they return to find a fire coming from the pan of chicken, and going up to the wooden cabinets above. Feeling they cannot control the fire, the homeowner and family flee the house and call 9-1-1. The FD arrives to find the kitchen “fully involved”, with fire entering the dining room. By the time the fire is extinguished, it had gone from the first floor, up the stairs, and to part of the bedroom areas. But wait! The Fire Chief wonders why the fire got “out of the kitchen” when there was a sprinkler system there also. Oh well, the Firefighters did their job, and now return to the Fire Station.

Now, it is time for the “Fire Investigator” (public and/or private) to “do their thing”.

Basically, your investigation reveals that the “area of origin” is the kitchen, specifically the “point of origin” being the kitchen stove and the pan thereon. You examine the remains of the pan, the conditions of the various “burners” and their controls, the half-empty bottle of “oil” used to cook the chicken, etc., and conclude the ignition scenario is one you have seen far too many times before. Now you may think (hopefully), “Hmmm, this house has one of those new ‘residential sprinkler systems’ in it, and a sprinkler head is centered in the kitchen ceiling. Why didn’t it fully extinguish the fire, or at least keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the house?”

Now, the questions begin, and further investigation is conducted.

- Did the sprinkler head “operate”?

- Was the “sprinkler head” the proper type?

- ?????

OK, you (or, a “Code” expert) determine that the “sprinkler head” was the proper type, and, it DID operate. Fine, but, why didn’t it control or stop the fire? Without touching on potential “spoliation” issues, we will state that further examination is now conducted. The following are just some of the issues that may arise from your further examination (and includes some comment).

#1- A “valve” for the sprinkler system is found in the “off” position. (Did the homeowner do this, or, was it never turned “on” after the final inspection? If “never turned on”, is the “Installer”, and/or the “local Code Inspector” at fault ? Wait, did the Code allow for such a valve in the first place?)

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#2- Everything “looks OK”, but you wonder if the ½” copper waterline could have supplied enough volume and pressure to the kitchen sprinkler head? (Code issues. Was it “sized” properly, and where are the “calculations” for such an installation? Did an Architect submit drawings/calculations for the system? If so, did the Installer follow such drawings for their installation? If no drawings were prepared, what “Codes” did the Installer follow for such installation?)

#3- Gee, everything so far, once again, “looks OK”. Now, you examine the sprinkler head itself. Was it the proper “head” for this type of “residential” installation, or, do you find it is a “commercial” head, with a higher temperature rating than what is called for under the “residential” installation Code? (Was the “wrong” head called for in the specs, or did the Installer putting in the wrong “head”.)

#4- Well, you have found all the valves in the proper position, and the “specs” for the overall system all match “Code” requirements, and the “sprinkler head” in the kitchen is the right size, now what? Well, you notice that, prior to the fire, there had been a large ornamental kitchen ceiling “light and fan” unit in the center of the kitchen ceiling. The “sprinkler head” is on the side of this unit “away” from the stove, and only 2” from the unit body. The homeowner tells you that this was there when they moved in. Hmm, there is the potential for the “sprinkler head” not being able to provide the proper amount of water immediately to the fire area (kitchen stove top), due to being partially “blocked” by the unit body. (Did the Electrician install the fan after the sprinkler head was in place, or, did the Sprinkler Installer install the sprinkler head after the “light and fan” unit was in place? The Sprinkler Installer should have been aware of the “clearance” issues (Code requirements), and/or the Code Inspector should have been aware of similar issues upon the final inspection.) However, what if the homeowner installed this unit, not realizing it could block the sprinkler head’s effectiveness?

#5- In the “when all else fails” situation, you may decide to check the water supply at the street (a Fire Hydrant flow test). Do the findings match the original “flow test” results? If there is a “major” deviation i.e., a “lower” supply, you must ask “WHY”? Was there an original flow test actually done? On the day of the fire, did the Water Authority have any “problems” in the area, such a broken main water line, which could have affected water flow at the time of the fire? Did the Water Authority, six months after the house was completed, change part of their in-ground System, so that a lesser amount of water was available when the fire occurred? (The supply would still meet minimum requirements for area “general fire and domestic service” water, but, if the calculations for the house was at the bare minimum [maybe to keep installation costs down] , then the current Public street service water would NOT be enough to comply with Code requirements “inside” the house [did the Sprinkler Designer” provide any “percentage increase” to address just such an issue?] )

My “intent” here is NOT to “take a side” on the Code issues, although as a Firefighter, I can see the potential for life and property savings such Systems can provide (including the lives of Firefighters), regardless of the “costs”.

And, it is NOT my “intent” to take issue with any sprinkler system Architect, Designer, Installer, Trades-person, and/or Code Official/Inspector regarding their qualifications and/or job performance.

Further, it is NOT my “intent” to put together a “blueprint for potential SUBROGATION” for the Fire Investigator of such scenarios, although I would hope that ANY Fire Investigator would at least be aware of such potentials.

Rather, due to the MANY comments and questions that I have heard, as a “Firefighter, Fire Investigator, and/or Code Official”, it IS my “intent” to show, just like the old Social comment “It takes a Village to raise a Child”, that it takes a combined effort to insure that, when such Systems are installed, they are installed correctly, and in full Code compliance, and all factors affecting the performance of such Systems continue to be “maintained”, so that, when called upon, they can perform correctly and extinguish and/or control the fire.

Like a chain made up of many “links”, it only takes one “weak link” to cause the entire chain to fail, and the load it carries. When that happens, the door for the Fire Investigator, and maybe to potential SUBROGATION, is opened, and the whole “Village” can be affected.

I TOLD YOU SO AND NOW PEOPLE ARE DEAD

on Feb 20th of 2011 I posted a blog about the dangers that Group homes pose to mental patients
how there not well constructed and the fire dangers. This very group who managed the home in the article I talked about which was originally published back in the late 90's in Pa Fireman's Magazine
has now in fact Had fatality's from a fire at one of the group homes they run in Mill Creek Erie County Pa. I warned about it I screamed about and I said this day would come to be and now people are dead and what is going to be done about it. Nothing as usual because no one in this state has the balls to stand up and demand our citizens in the mental health community be treated better. It is a very sad day indeed in Pa. a day of shame.

http://nickmarkowitz.blogspot.com/2011/02/group-home-dangers.html

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110416%2FNEWS02%2F304169917

With the flick of a switch

One simple switch left off

Major problems and catastrophes have resulted

On numerous occasions!

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Fire Investigator/Researcher

A worker at a large Biomedical/Chemical manufacturer leaves a vital switch to a manufacturing process in the off position over a weekend and it results in $20,000.000.00 Loss of product in this automated plant.

A service tech leaves a switch in program mode instead of normal mode and Allegheny Counties 911 center goes down for several hours after a rouge number comes into the system and ties it up resulting in at least one death of an infant. Sprinkler Control Valves are turned off by Building Maintenance Men and a trouble signal is ignored and 3 firefighters loose there lives when a fire breaks out which would have been controlled by the sprinklers.

All of the above are true events which are among many tragic events that play out in this country on an almost daily basis, because a switch is turned off and forgotten about.

Not just any switch but very critical ones.

It is very easy for this to happen when people forget they have done it because they get busy with another project or service call to run to etc. and there is no follow up.

While many safety programs have been put in place to catch these mistakes they still happen. Some systems now have very visible flashing and blinking lights reminder buzzers etc. They warn a critical device has been shut off or bypassed to prevent a problem and often times they are ignored or simply disabled or the safety light or buzzer it self malfunctions .

Even more disturbing is the number of critical switches that have no warning they have been disabled. Sometimes just an out of service tag is placed on the switch some times not even this simple device is used.

OSHA has developed the Lock out Tag Out program to help prevent Accidents to personnel from electrical shock, hi pressures, temps etc.

But many standards do not address switch shut off issues where immediate Life Safety issues are not present and only become apparent when a device has failed to operate because it was inadvertently shut off .In the case of the 911 center it was several months before they had a problem because a simple switch was turned off and not restored.

Recently I replaced an older Foam Releasing Fire Panel at a Petroleum Transmix Facility

Which protected the Propane and Gasoline Loading Rack area .And was surprised to find the older panel had no supervision of the main electric coil which releases the foam. The one critical circuit the panel was designed around and personnel on site had no idea if this coil was working or not. They knew if the power was off battery low wiring to pull stations and rate of compensation detectors and if valves were turned off or working etc. but no idea the foam would or would not release. After many accident investigations of fire system failures etc UL and NFPA have now recognized this one area that was over looked and now the coils are fully supervised. But it also depends on the installer properly wiring it as well. Modern Fire Systems now have all kind of safety features built in to detect when a panel or one of its functions is not operating properly, which in the long run will help prevent problems but again many times it is strictly up to the persons installing the systems, inspecting the systems and operating the systems to make sure proper procedures are carried out. This is why on Nuclear Submarines when a command is given it is repeated down the line several times to make sure all involved in the command make sure it is carried out. It may seem over kill but this is what the Navy found out was critical in making sure Nuclear Subs operate safely and why our Atomic Sub Fleet has such a good safety record. Because they try to keep the human factor in check.

I work in many High Risk Industrial Facility’s where it is critical to note positions of valves and switches where trained plant personnel conduct regular hourly inspection tours. But some plants leave it up to a Minimum wage Security Guard to take readings etc. which could very well be jeopardizing the people in the plant and surrounding community. I know this all too well because when I worked as a guard while attending Refrigeration &Heating trade school I worked at a plant in Carnegie area which made cooking oil called Mallot Industries where they wanted us to push a switch to turn on a massive oil fired boiler system if it went off line. One very cold night it did.

I refused to throw the switch and called the Plant Engineer because I saw an irregularity with the system I was cursed and screamed at for waking him up and by my guard supervisor from CPP Security for making them come to the plant at 3:00 am .But after they arrived and saw the problem they quickly apologized .I was even given a small token of thank you as well

Thank God that night I was working and not another guard as things could have been catastrophic as fuel oil had built up in the boilers because they did not fire on properly

And there would have been an large flash over an possible explosion when the fire button was activated.

Needless to say after that incident Guards were to no longer hit the button and call plant personnel instead. Makes you wonder just what the hell these plant owners were thinking in the first place. Eventually the boilers where replaced and old boiler house torn down.

In a couple of cases when I was working as a guard at places and I pointed out a problem the plant owners had me moved to another site seems I had uncovered a scheme to damage a factory and collect the insurance money and foiled there plans.

Eventually these unsafe places went bankrupt. It is unfortunate how many bad business owners there are in the world who do not care about there employees one only has to look at the mining industry in West Virginia this year.

Because safety rules were ignored or violated to keep production operating.

Knowing all the problems that go on with critical switches and signals you would think by now many of these issues would be addressed but unfortunately it is not until the investigation is conducted that a problem is discovered.

This is why you always see codes being updated but all too often existing problems are never corrected or addressed and Codes still are often inadequate and take several revisions till all issues are covered.

Lazy Plumbers Puting Public at risk when they remove ground wires

One of my clients a high end restaurant called me today he was getting a phone line fault indication
on his Fire Alarm and I went to the site and started testing finding the phone lines where fine but every so many minutes a fault would happen when I looked at the panels log I also saw other weird
Things going on as well with the processor. after checking everything over and rebooting the Burglar system and the fire system I noticed while them waiting to boot up that a new Water filter system had been installed and some lazy ass plumber had disconnected the ground wire and clamp since it no longer fit on the bigger pipe being used. The Plumber never bothered to tell any one this needed fixed as it is an essential for the fire and burglar alarm panels to keep them in safe operational order. First the ground wires remove any potential electrical current which may be leaking from a faulty component which is not enough to trip a breaker but can still deliver a significant shock depending on your health it could be fatal.
2nd the ground wires provide for what is known as zero or reference ground in electronics if certain chips etc become confused they look for zero ground to rest there counters. no ground or dirty ground machines controls etc can malfunction and lock up.
3rd the ground on Fire and burglar panels provide a ground reference for the telephone line voltage verification circuit. which tells the location and or central station if voltage is not on phone line and it is not working. 4th it passes stray surge voltage when a near by lightning strike or surge enters the system.
As you can see that simple little ground wire is important and when it comes to bigger ground wire jumpers used around water meters for safe passage of stray current if a ground wire used for an electrical service is not removed properly a plumber could be electrocuted if the electrical services neutral has deteriorated. But even these I see removed all the time when Back Flow preventers are installed by professional plumbers who again do not give a dam and tell no one when it does not fit.
In the latest case the restaurant owner called the plumbing company who sent a supervisor on scene and he had me give him the bill and they wrote me out a check for having to fix things.
Needless to say he had some serious conversations with his plumbing crews.

Fire Alarm causing a Fire ?

Why are Alarm Installers not properly installing the Dual Battery Harnesses?
On High end Ademco /Honeywell Combo Fire / Burglar Alarm Panels

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Alarm Installers are dangerously disregarding Honeywell’s Factory Instructions on its high end panels when it comes to how the dual battery harness is installed on Vista 32 FB, 128 FB and 250 FB and FBP Panels
Instead of putting the doubled end red and black wires on the 2 bottom terminals and nothing on the top 2 terminals and having 2 loose red and black wire sets 4 wires total. Installers are installing the 4 loose wires on the 4 board terminals and putting the doubled ends on a single battery which puts 2 fuses in parallel to the single battery thereby overloading the battery leads which could lead to a fire and or explosion of the battery under certain circumstances. The top 2 board terminals are only used when the panel has the 24 DC volt horn adapter installed.
What the factory should be doing is putting plastic caps over these terminals so they are not used and marked 24 VDC adapter use only.
Now the factory should not even have to do this because had installers done due diligence of reading the instructions before they installed the panels they would know not to do this dangerous practice. But lets face it too many installers are a dime a dozen do not care to learn there trade are underpaid and have no pride in there work
Personally only one time doing national accounts service have I ever found in 20 years of working on these panels have I found the harness installed correctly. I note this all the time on work orders and no one cares to pay attention till the day comes a battery gets overcharged short circuits and the inline fuse is delayed in blowing out and you have a serious problem on your hands. With all the poorly built batteries being sold out there it is just a matter of time till a fire alarm actually causes a fire some day or an installer gets seriously hurt responding to a low battery signal. I have actually pulled batteries out where the batteries temp had exceeded 600 degrees.
And have a complaint filed with CPSC over certain manufacturer’s batteries due to all the problems I am seeing with them. But as usual nothing will change until there is a disaster. Educating installers not to do this forget it.
They could care less.

A dangerous Situation with Batteries

This is why you do not mix batteries old and new and why fire investigators need to pay more attention to this as a possible fire source.

I do occasional Sub contract work for one of the national alarm servicing companies and
I was called Friday night for an emergency alarm service call at an upscale department store when there burglar alarm system went blank..
Upon arriving all the keypads are saying low battery. No Ac and some are totally blank.
I find a well installed Radionics /Bosch system from 10 years ago and there is a main panel and a booster panel underneath for zone expander extra power supply etc.
I open the top box and find a miss matched set of 12 volt 7 amp batteries on the same parallel harness a Elk battery installed in 12/05 and an Ultratech battery install 06/09
The mismatched set started the problem when the Ultratech battery went low and started over drawing the power supply and overcharged the older Elk battery bulging it out and finally leading to the 16 volt 40 VA AC Transformer to start melting and bulging and then popping the over current device.
The transformer and batteries where hot enough to cause first degree burns.
Luckily the batteries where enclosed in a metal housing as well as the transformer because if this had been any other storage room junk would have been up against the transformer and possibly the batteries and thru a process known as pyrolysis a fire could have been the result. Luckily this time only the batteries got hot and transformer ruined but it could have been much worse.
Building codes require areas around alarm systems and electrical equipment to be clutter free of junk but we have all seen rooms stacked to the ceiling and this is a classic case where a fire can develop despite what manufacturers and there shill engineers claim otherwise why would they require air space around there equipment. And what if that overload on that transformer was one of these poorly designed ones out of China and overload took longer than it should to pop. Here clearly is a case where a fire could develop and be ignored by many investigators as a cause but as you can see from the pictures if it was hot enough to melt plastic it was hot enough to start paper, And after said investigator got on scene found the room and control all burned up they would have no idea there was mixed batteries and caulk it off to something else. As everything would be consumed including the transformer.
I have filed a complaint with the CPSC over these problem Ultratech Batteries and will no longer buy them they will not last more than couple years and are causing all kinds of problems as you can see including popping 120 vac. breakers on fire alarm boosters.
The industry does not want to address the problems going on in batteries and transformers and it is just a matter of time till another fire develops. and once again the wrong cause is cited. It is a shame how many fires in this country investigators get wrong or blow off a cause because they can not simulate it in a lab.

So what are the rules when it comes to batteries in series or parallel?

1- Never mix old with new batteries always use fresh sets made at same time and bought at same place.
2- Never put 2 different amperage batteries together
3- Never put different manufacturers’ batteries together.
4- use proper sized wiring to charging transformer
5- make sure alarm can allows air flow around batteries. pop pot a knock out or 2 if needed

Code Genuises strike again!

Metal Switch Plates and Plastic Electrical Boxes
A major NEC Code failure which took several years to correct.

When plastic and resin based Electrical switch boxes came on the market for use in residential homes instead of the traditional steel ones it was seen as a significant advancement in technology and cost savings. But it also turned out to be a monster which still has consequences to this day.
The problem is the metal strap on the switch which must be grounded to effectively take away the electrical current should something go wrong in the switch and the energized conductors makes that metal strap electrically hot.
While you may not notice this small trickle of power it could shock you if you have a metal wall plate protecting the switch VS. a plastic one. So with this worry in mind the Code Geniuses instead of requiring switch manufacturers to put a green ground screw on the switch and having the electrician attach the ground wire to it eliminating the hazard they got the big ideal will put plastic washers and screws in so the metal switch plate does not make contact with the switch strap.
WRONG what’s the first thing a new home owner do but take off the plastic switch plates and plastic screws and washers holding them in place and put that fancy metal plate in place with the brass screws which came with it, discarding the plastic screws since they look terrible. Result home owner receives an electrical shock. When something goes wrong with switch. So finally the code geniuses after 2 tries to get it right finally pass a rule you must now manufacture switches with ground screws and electricians must put ground wires to them that is if you have a competent electrician in the first place . so many non- electricians who think they can do electrical work. do not hook up ground wires or wire receptacles back wards but that’s another story.
So Once again what did we learn . As usual it takes some one in the field to find and report the problem the genius who came up with the new idea in the first place should have done there home work on when designing it in the first place.

Are we going forward or backwards with technology?

Are we really going Backward instead of Forward?
When it comes to the use of Digital Technology

By: Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator and Researcher

As new and emerging technologies come out almost daily we have to now ask ourselves are we really benefiting from them or are they going to lead to our demise. Are we advancing civilization or hurting it. Are we getting smarter or more stupid with technology?
Look at the latest Toyota Automotive fiasco with cars automatically accelerating and many experts pointing at the electronics and computers being used in the cars as the problem a problem not found nearly as often with mechanical systems which worked fine for hundreds of years in all types of technology till electronics came around.

Take this as a typical example Anti Lock Braking Systems.
They were billed as an end to rear end collision and other accidents being avoided and instead Anti Lock brakes have been blamed for the cause of many accidents and deaths because the driver did not use them properly.
Why because when properly applied you must put your foot down and hold it in place when you do this the anti lock system comes on but then it makes horrendous noises and some times shakes the vehicle when applied people think something is wrong and let up from the brake pedal and vehicle fails to stop or the driver instead of pushing down and holding mistakenly pump the brakes making them useless.
Before this technology was released drivers should have been mandated to attend classes where they put a vehicle into a simulated crash so they would know how there going to respond no written word or video is going to do it you must actually experience it so you know what to expect.
But did we do this no and hundreds have died as a result over last 20+ years it has been available.

Lets then look at Photography. We almost all have used a digital cameras there great no more film to play with but what about storing all this digital media .We are finding out there are problems with digital cameras unlike Film negatives and prints which can last for ever if properly handled and stored we are already finding out digital storage media is deteriorating and many pictures are now lost to history. The other problem 30 years from now will you still be able to view the stored media on a CD/DVD or thumb drive will these types of readers still be around. With a print or negative you can put it over or under a light and there it is no technology involved. Again are we going forward or backward are we benefitting from short term gains for long term losses.
The same can be said with Vinyl Record Vs. CD or MP3 file again records will last forever but not CD’s and mp3 files there is now an on going revolution that is bringing vinyl back some music groups are actually cutting new albums on vinyl.
Also do not forget high fidelity and other music technologies now all being replaced by digital but any real audiophile can tell you nothing replaces the true sound vacuum tubes produced. In fact there are various digital music production software programs which try to reproduce the sound for commercials and movies etc.
Again are we going forward or backward.
What sounds better that scratchy old 50’s rock and roll vinyl record that was recorded in mono or a newly re-mastered version in CD quality? I vote for the old record.
Again when scholars research what Elvis actually sounded like a 100 years from now and there are no more vinyl records will they truly know what he sounded like and why the entire buzz about him I doubt it. Again are we going forward or backward.
How about those old Red Gamewell Fire Boxes that you could find on the phone poles.
They always worked even when all power was out even if the phones where out even if there’s a line break on the red boxes they still worked. That’s why San Francisco still maintains them there the only thing working some times after an earthquake.
Yet every town has gotten rid of them but for a handful and as we found out after the big snowstorm of 2010 cell phones ,digital phones etc where useless because digital does not have the back up non fail design analog technology like those old red boxes did.
Again what have we gained from digital other than lower cost? Nothing we have actually put the population at greater danger. Of course had all the dangers digital phones pose been told to those getting them they probably would have thought twice before getting rid of that old reliable ma bell phone?
How about the new code all new homes must have arc fault breakers in them to prevent fires great but new homes do not need them as much as old homes and 20-30 years from now when the breakers need to work will the electronics function I wonder or will it be like GFCI- Ground fault outlets which there have been several revisions because of technology short comings.
How about all the new homes must now have fire protection sprinklers but already a fatal fire and explosion has been attributed to a fire sprinkler system because the antifreeze in the pipes to protect them was mixed improperly and exploded when the sprinklers came on to put out the fire are you still now in favor of sprinklers for homes?
Or how about Elevator shafts which they require fire protection sprinkler heads in and which they require the power to be shut off before the water flows. Unfortunately they have failed to design into elevator codes a sure fire way to know an elevator has safely gotten to a landing before the power goes off and sprinkler comes on and as a result some day some one is going to be trapped and die of smoke inhalation or electrical shock in an elevator car because engineers have failed to properly design elevator codes. Why do we even need sprinklers in elevator shafts the pit area yes but the shafts are fire proof designed.
But that’s the problem designers of technology they do not want to admit its short comings they emphasize only the good points not the bad and society is suckered into it with out asking all the questions which need to be answered. Yes I love technology and I install and repair it but I also know its dangers and respect it and try to educate those who I put it in for that’s the difference. I try to back up technology properly so it will work during power failures and disasters something many others do not do. I design back ups to the back ups but even they can fail. But how many systems are out there with no back up at all and they could very well imperial your life one of these days.
Some days you have to wonder was The Uni-Bomber really on to something when he railed against technology? Was he trying to teach us about the dangers we now face but in a vastly perverted criminal way. I bet he is snickering in his cell right now.

Lifetime Product design ?

A Product being installed in a home built to last a Life Time
Should be designed so it can be used for a Life Time

It happens all too often a couple decides to build there dream home
And they go and select all the items they want from a local builder including lighting, bath and kitchen fixtures. There home is beautiful when done and everything is going fine until 5-10 years down the road something goes wrong with one of the items in the home like the Combination fan and heater in the bathroom. No problem they call the builder who sends by his handy man who informs you the fan manufacturer no longer makes that model but he will try and get something to work in there. Sometimes they find a very good replacement that fits properly many times they do not.
This is especially true when it comes to built in items like whole house music systems and appliances.
Good luck trying to find anything that matches or even looks or works close to what you bought 10 years ago. Expect to have to bust into and patch the walls because the new item will not match to the current size hole that the previous item made.
How many people had thru the wall air conditioners or heaters installed in a bedroom or extra room when the whole house system did not quite do the job ,to only find out 10-15 years down the road when the unit needed replaced all the new units where half the size.
This problem does not just happen in residential settings but in the business world as well with phone and computer systems as well.
It is the same old problem they no longer make that item any more.
And no repair parts are available. The real reason behind this always changing designs is because manufactures want to sell new products and carry only one line and not support older products.
While this is not always true because some times with electronics certain chip sets and components are no longer being made. This is no reason why a substitute can not be found and the new piece of plastic it is put into is big enough to cover an existing hole or mate into an existing system. ATT made the Partner phone system reversible for over 20 years in its product run life.
And there is enough old stuff out there that will be refurbished and phones will available for some time. You can still buy refurbished Merlin phones from almost 30 years ago. And with IP coming into ply while they no longer make partner you can still inter match components. So accolades to Avaya who is the ATT successor to the product line. So if companies like Avaya and Honeywell and many others get it when it comes to longevity and making things easy to change out and update why do others not? Because they just do not care and they produce what they think consumers want instead of listening to the market and that’s why they go down the drain.

It has been 1 year has anything changed in the Coal Mines? No it has not

Yet another terrible Coal Mine Tragedy
Why was this mine allowed to operate?
With all the violations it piled up.

When I travel down to West Virginia on Interstate 79 while traveling thru Greene County on the North Bound side on my return trip there is a Road Side Rest and Pa. Welcome Center which has a small area of display cases filled with all kinds of neat Coal mining memorabilia but there is also a very large black marble stone memorial as well many never stop to notice
And walk right past it. Not knowing several hundred feet below there feet this memorial commemorates a tragedy on December 6th of 1962- when 37 Coal Miners lost there lives in the US Steel Robena Mine Explosion.
Just one of a long list of mine tragedies in Pa. which over the last 100 plus years has cost 1000s of men and even young boys there lives. Some of these miners remains where never recovered from these explosions and are still entombed some where in the mines. But the worst tragedies and biggest loss of lives has been in West Virginia coal mine fields which like Pa. have a history of Rich Overbearing Coal Barons marred by tragedy and violence which came with those coal fields.
History has once again played out as the sirens whale and a vigil is being held at the
Upper Branch Coal mine in Montcoal W.Va. Owned by the Massey Energy company which has had a long history of coal mining violations and labor issues. So far 24 miners are confirmed dead and 4 are still being searched for after a major explosion. That may have been caused by a Methane Gas Build up which is one of the many threats to miners they face every time they put on there gear and start to work down the long dark coal shafts
Cut and scraped by machines hundreds of feet under ground.
Much has been done and researched to make coal mining as safe as possible but some times accidents like roof falls and equipment malfunctions still happen, despite the best efforts to prevent it.
Many occupations like Steel worker, Skilled Tradesman, Construction worker ,First Responder all have there dangers despite all the safety regulations and protective equipment accidents can and will happen you have to keep this in the back of your mind all the time to stay safe.
It is the risk you take if you want to make good money and raise a family and not have a 4 year or higher college degree.
But no matter how safe you work you have to rely on the employer and he guy beside you to make sure you and he come home after every shift. This is where problems can and do happen when rules are disregarded.
There are mines which have operated continuously for almost 100 years and never had an explosion or serious tragedy yet there are others with long track records of them.
And thankfully with advances in mining allowing less workers to do more we do not see the big hundred plus deaths like we saw in late 1800’s and early 1900’s most mines today can operate with 50 or less miners per shift. And there are no more young boys allowed to work who typically worked as shakers, greasers, door operators and mule /pony drivers.
At one time boys as young as 12 worked in the mines 12 hrs a day 7 days a week to help feed there families.
Especially when a father became ill, or was killed in the mine and he could no longer provide for the family. We also no longer have the Coal and Iron Police which protected the Coal Barons Mines and property with threats and intimidation.
There is no more company stores where a miners wages where spent providing minimally to the family after deductions for the rent for the house they lived in the tools he used and blasting powder he used each day. There have been no riots where coal company guards shot and killed people or maimed them. Like what happened in Matewan W.Va. in 1920 or Moorefield Pa. Those days are over with the strong Coal mining unions and Labor laws have eliminated those bad old days and there are no more Coal Barons like Henry Clay Frick that left behind an environmental mess of streams and creeks running orange from iron and acid and ruined land. Today responsible mine owners clean up there properties and filter mine water and drainage .Plus they make sure there employees are safe.
But this is not always the case. Some mining companies are willing to put production ahead of safety and when this happens everyone is at risk. In some companies it becomes part of the culture and this is when it is time to shut down and make mines conform or never reopen or sell it to some one who will run it correctly.
I have heard it time and again workers complain about this and that work place being dangerous and not properly run yet they still go to work each day regardless to provide for there families because there is no other work available and these are the same stories we are hearing coming out of this tragedy as well.
The mine owners claim they do everything they can to make things right the mine inspectors say no they do not and round and round the fingers are pointed and once again
The politicians are getting ready to conduct hearings on the matter and once again nothing will be done to stop the problems in W.Va. Coal mines.
Once again we are hearing all the redirect we heard after the Sago mine tragedy when 12 miners died a couple of years back and improvements and new laws where suppose to stop what happened at Upper Branch mine. So what went wrong? Hopefully we will know and learn from it after MSHA conducts a complete investigation.
In the mean time we can only speculate.
I know myself there are job sites and companies I have refused to work for and I have even had Jobsites shut down and things corrected ,but I have done so at a terrible personnel cost.
But I refuse to work with slobs while others just keep there mouths shut and say and does nothing like scared little rabbits. They help to contribute to the culture of danger and uncaring that gets people killed.
So why do more people not speak up and demand things are fixed and done right it is because that’s what they have been taught by others around them to shut up and just keep doing your job it’s the intimidation factor that scares men from speaking up ,and Bosses and owners know it. It’s the old Bogey man in the closet syndrome.
Plus the fact there is always those who are ready to step in and take your job from you.
They are commonly known in the labor world as Scabs.
So as you can see it is a complicated issue, but until those who work the coal mines demand better conditions where they work from owners and government Coal mining will
Continue to be a dangerous occupation and be paid nothing more than lip service by politicians. It is time to stop the culture of Death and Danger in these mines.
We know how to run them safe and we know what the problems are.
But will we No. a hundred years from now the same horrific headlines will still be seen and heard and same bullshit from politicians.

Note: On the Spike TV Channel a new show called Coal which shows the daily struggles in a low coal mine in W. Virgina is now showing. Wednesday nites at 10PM

Home Inspectors are worthless for the most part do not waste your money on them

This Home Inspection Service
Needs Investigated and put out of business?
By Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator

One of my industrial customers sons recently bought an older home here in Pittsburgh and before he bought the home he paid $500.00 to have the home inspected
To make sure there were no major flaws.
The inspector showed up inspected the home and gave him a report of some minor things which needed done took his money and left. His son moves into the house and starts noticing after a rain storm how the basement would start stinking really bad to the point he could not let his child down there to play he lifts the rug to find that the previous home owner in able to have a level floor had put 5/8 drywall boards on the floor.
Needless to say he will have to rip out the entire basement floor and level and fix it properly but the inspector should have questioned it because as soon as you step on it you can tell something is not right and it should have been further investigated. Then my friend’s son starts having problems with the plumbing finding the home owner had Mickey Moused the plumbing to make it work, again it was plainly visible to the inspector if he bothered to look above the basement ceiling and it was not caught.
Then one cold evening my friend’s son notices the front living room wall is getting dangerously hot he calls 911 and the fire Dept arrives and shuts down the circuit.
He calls me to the house and I find the homeowner once again had done a patch it up quick job on the wiring. He will need to completely rewire the basement because the wiring is so bad all of which should have been noted in the inspectors report and was not.
The homeowner next door to him is looking at a very expensive deck repair because the same inspector failed to notice the deck was not properly fastened to the house and is starting to pull away.
My friends son is looking at over $10,000 to get the home properly fixed. So what does the inspector have to say about it? Absolutely nothing. You see he has protected him self with an Exculpalary clause in the inspection contract and even thou he was grossly negligent in doing his inspection there is no recourse against him my friends son is out the $500.00 plus all the extra money it will take to fix all the problems he keeps finding.
So how does this person become a home inspector in Pa? He puts up a sign and joins an inspectors assoc goes to a couple of classes, he follows another inspector around for several inspections and then is allowed to go out and inspect. That’s it.
There is absolutely no state or other oversight to make sure he knows what he is doing.
And unfortunately this is the way it is with many occupations and businesses in Pa.
The home inspector does not even have meet the ICC requirements normal Municipal Code and building Inspectors must follow either and even with the new UCC with ICC codes in place the municipal inspectors in too many cases are not doing there jobs as well .As I have outlined in several previous articles. The bad part to this whole situation is most people moving into homes are already stretched for cash and are unable in many cases to get serious problems taken care of and are living with ticking time bombs.
As usual our state officials are very aware of the problem and have done nothing to correct this situation that is happening to new home and building owners .who are paying out staggering sums of money to correct problems left behind by previous home owners.
Do not waste your money on a home inspector hire a trusted contractor to come and take a look I have yet to find one home inspector who ever did his job correctly

What kind of Slumlords do you have in your community?

Through the eyes of a Slumlord

Over the years I have unfortunately had to deal with Slum Lords while running my business and usually once I have determined these individuals are Slum Lords I have tried my damnedest to get these individuals to change there minds and do things correctly when it comes to building codes and none ever have and at that point they become X customers as I do not want it on my conscious that some one was injured in a building in which I was working.
One of the biggest things that bothers me about Slum Lords is that they are for the most part Greedy ,uncaring individuals having no conscious they are often Lawyers , doctors ,Accountants and other high income professionals who usually live in houses with families living the perfect suburban life while there tenants pay the price of living in unsafe property.
But it is just not High Income Professionals many times it is real-estate and Property Management companies who are slum Lords also some times with or with out the Absentee Land Lords Knowledge.
And some slum Lords exist because they bought the property at to high a rate or lost a lot of tenants etc. and there in over there heads.
A lot of Slumlords are the first time novelists who want to dabble in real-estate and have no idea what there getting them selves into.
Now I have heard every excuse in the book why they should not follow building codes and provide safe housing.
And none of the answers they give justify what they do. as I know of many Land Lords who do there best to provide proper housing and many times go above what is required by law to make things right for there tenants.
and should there properties burn down and some one die it's oh well things happen and to bad for the person who got killed or injured .And the slum lord goes about his merry way.

Now when it comes to slum lords there are 3 basic types
the low-class ghetto type Slum Lord and the High Class Slum Lord and Management Slum Lord, some times they can be all 3

The Low Class Slum Lord typically buys property which has gone through bankruptcy or sheriffs sale and is already many times in bad shape. In a Low income neighborhood.
But some times in the middle and upper income neighborhoods.
you can always tell there properties grass unkempt gutters falling off rotted wood and falling and cracked brick work. they collect the rent do no improvement or repairs to the properties unless code enforcement and the courts compels them to and what repairs are done are poorly done by inexperienced and untrained contractors .who them selves don’t give a dam what kind of work there doing as them slum lord will often try to beat them out of there money.

The High Class Slum Lord
Is often hard to tell because he hides all his problems with fringe and style.
He keeps the hall ways clean and painted and puts in fancy landscaping , but above the ceilings and in the basements he will hire uncaring tradesman who will wire , do plumbing or other trades in poor work practices which are often done dangerously against code. this land lord while keeping up appearances is actually cutting corners every were he can get away with it.

The Management slum lord is some one who manages property for Land Lords living out of state or who are not interested in maintaining there own properties just collecting the profits. many times it doctors and lawyers who are just too busy to handle the properties they own so they hire a management firm to do the renting and maintenance etc. for a fee while many such management companies do a good job there are twice as many who do a bad job who hire any one of the street to come onto the property and do repairs or cleaning often times with disastrous results.

And of course Slum lords pay off inspectors or you have too many communities who are short inspectors who can’t keep an eye on everything because there over burdened
and then you have communities who just don’t give a dam about code enforcement .
and all of this activity just helps to drive up insurance rates and slum lords do the insurance fraud games to. what we have is one big mess that has no cure until people get involved and demand safe housing . Luckily Pa. has now passed codes this year which now gives Pa. code enforcement officers the ability to crack down on out of state slum lords by being able to lean properties and other measures. We will see if it does any good.
The City of Pittsburgh has recently taken severe code enforcement actions against a group of slumlords providing dangerous housing to college students in the Oakland shutting down the buildings till fixed and the Allegheny County District attorneys office has taken actions against apartment owners as well in Baldwin twp. At Leyland Pointe Apartments Formerly known as “Green Ghettos” Good job Officials.

How safe are you in the mall?

The bigger the safer there built?
I do not think so.
By Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator

Seems every time you turn around some where they’re putting up another super Gigantic Mega Shopping Mall some where.
Some of these monsters have more than half a million sq ft. or more
I get to work in these malls every once in a while when I subcontract Burglar alarm installations for national chain stores, so I get to travel the back hallways and other areas in them. Where I get to see many scary things contractors and mall maintenance people have done wrong .From punching big holes thru fire walls and not fixing them running wires thru auto dampers so they will not close properly to building walls and not moving sprinkler heads to provide proper coverage now that new wall is in place. Yes you see it all going on in the back inner mall workings.
And the one big scary question in the back of my mind is. How in the hell are we going to get everybody out of here if something goes wrong from an airplane accidentally falling from the sky and crashing into the mall to a gas line explosion or accidental chemical release in a food court area to a terrorist attack? The latest store I worked in took 2500 feet to make it to an outside exit door traveling thru those back corridors and just imagine trying to do this in the dark because I guarantee the emergency light batteries have not been maintained properly . And although the entire mall is completely sprinklered it is also mostly all dry wall. Some malls do have voice Evacuation and Fire Pull stations smoke detectors etc. for earlier notification of problems and giving directions to evacuating customers but many have nothing other than sprinklers and duct detectors and a fire could easily get out of hand especially if renovations which are frequently done end up blocking sprinkler heads or if extra heads have not been added as needed or if the sprinkler systems have not been properly maintained. And dry wall in no way matches up against concrete block walls in a fire. Plus take all the weight of piping and lights firewalls which have had big holes cut into them and you have the perfect formula for something going very wrong and it does happen. Recently a mall had a horrific electrical explosion when renovations were being improperly done and an electrician died the mall was luckily not open for the day yet .It started filling with smoke and all the power was knocked out. With only store and mall employees in there it was not a major problem but what if this explosion had happened at 12:30 Pm and this mall is in an area where it is all volunteers that provide the fire fighting. Luckily they have a good day time response but many areas do not.
It is just a matter of time until there is a serious incident in one of these new super malls and a very real danger in the older many times over renovated smaller malls. Is any body paying attention or working on making sure there will not be a major problem in a very few cases yes in the vast majority of areas contractors do what they want when they want any time they want in these malls and no one is there to make sure the work is being done safely and correctly.
And the time bomb is ticking all over Pa. And many other states as well. Just in my area there are several malls in decline and half empty and I guarantee you maintenance is being cut back on in these malls since they do not have rental money coming in to pay for such things. i find sprinklers shut off in big shopping centers all the time why would it not happen in a mall.
Once again a very clear and significant area of life safety is not being addressed in our codes and protection is being based on computer modeling which can never fully take into consideration all that can go wrong .9-11 showed us exactly what can go wrong
And Murphy’s Law is often times never considered in design criteria.
Mr. Brannigan is right “The Building is the Enemy - Know the Enemy”

Note: I wrote this article several years back before the tragedy that unfolded in the Midwest when a gun man took hostages and almost an entire mall burned to the ground when a Jewelry store robbery went bad. To make matters worse sprinkler valves had been turned off. Needless to say all the geniuses at NFPA and every where else are looking at this case and we can expect some more nonsense rules and codes which will do nothing to address the situation. Way to go NFPA, UL, ICC and the rest of the code bodies.
Never listen to the guys in the trenches just sit there in your ivory towers as usual.