3 Alarm Fire in Downtown Memphis

[cdarr]

This fire could have been much, much worse. Read this article:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/...5051542,00.html

This statement is especially frightening to visualize:

"This could have destroyed blocks and blocks of the city," Cavanaugh said. "It could have turned into a tragedy of epic proportion. It was a very dangerous night for the City of Memphis."

Sounds like congrats are in order to the Memphis Fire Department.

[Rardy]

The Court Square projects are proceeding, despite the fire. Today's CA

"We're thinking about what a new Court Annex building would be like."

[idlewild]

i still think it was arson or something, i walked the distance from the Court Square Annex Bldg to the church and don't understand how a flaming ember can travel such a great distance while staying lit and ignite two buildings on fire that are involved in the same redevelopment project, which by the way was heavily insured. seems suspicious to me.

[northernbizzkit1]

i still think it was arson or something, i walked the distance from the Court Square Annex Bldg to the church and don't understand how a flaming ember can travel such a great distance while staying lit and ignite two buildings on fire that are involved in the same redevelopment project, which by the way was heavily insured. seems suspicious to me.

[pjj4000]

agreed...i didn't realize the buildings were so far apart until I was downtown last night. Those embers had to hop a few buildings to get to the Lincoln Tower, etc.

[Rardy]

the firestorm generated its own wind, and blew the embers everywhere in all directions. the fire department formed the "ember squads" as mentioned in one of the articles posted above in order to dowse the particles before it spread the fire. there were no windows in lincoln-american, or the other buildings around it because of the renovations, that's how the embers spread into those buildings and not others. these aren't small smoudering embers we're talking about either, these were big flaming chunks of wood roof propelled by high winds that night which were assisted by fire-generated winds.

i've always heard we have one of the best fire depts. in the nation, and that night served to prove it. how many departments in a city our size could take a curve ball like that, and react so quickly and professionally?

i seriously don't think the building owners at court square would observe a church fire and say "hey, why don't we start one, too" when all their financing was lined up and they had tenents signed for the buildings.

now maybe if they had no money and no lined up occupants, we could raise suspicion, but this project had and still has everything going for it.

[Rardy]

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