Huge Fire in Louis Rossmann's Building

[EEVblog]

This does not look good, a huge fire in Louis Rossmann's building:
Fire raged for hours and they had to let it basically burn out. Rear of the building has collapsed.

Even if not direct fire affected, the shop is almost certainly extensively smoke and water damaged.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/3945805-east-village-fire-rages-for-hours/

[Red Squirrel]

Oh wow, ouch.  Definitely not good.

[riyadh144]

Oh man, I wish him all the best.

[ataradov]

Somebody decided to speed up the expiration of those leases. Why wait a few years, when a few gallons of gas and a match will do the same in 1 day?

[Ampera]

This is the exact reason why chips like the Pentium D and FX-9590 were a mistake. It's like trying to repair a blowtorch, one wrong move and you set everything on fire.

My stupidity aside though, I hope the heat didn't get too close to his shop, and after some checking of things out, hopefully he can come back.

[station240]

Existing topic, with some other information
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/louis-rossmans-store-affected-by-fire/

latest news
https://www.nyunews.com/2018/10/03/10-04-fire/

Local businesses were affected by smoke damage and surrounding residents are not allowed back inside until further notice. A nearby mosque, Madina Masjid, was also evacuated due to smoke damage in their basement.

Between the fire and the mosque, is Louis's store, so he also certainly has smoke damage in his basement too.

[Ampera]

This is the exact reason why chips like the Pentium D and FX-9590 were a mistake. It's like trying to repair a blowtorch, one wrong move and you set everything on fire.

I've seen a heavily overclocked LGA775 Pentium D MELTED its socket. Asus was kind enough to get it fixed for free, though.
That being said, P5B Deluxe is really a god like mobo. It kept running while the socket was partially melted.

*: Technically, not melted. Thermal-set plastics don't melt, but they softens and deforms under pressure beyond Tg.

I have actually said, that the Pentium D is the only CPU known to man capable of turning the socket it's in into hot molten slag.

[glarsson]

I have actually said, that the Pentium D is the only CPU known to man capable of turning the socket it's in into hot molten slag.

I have seen an expensive CPU board with damage from overheating. All surface mounted chips in white ceramic and gold. Solder melted and  some chips had floated away...

[EEVblog]

Between the fire and the mosque, is Louis's store, so he also certainly has smoke damage in his basement too.

No doubt.
Didn't know he had a basement, but yeah, if the one two doors up got into the basement, Louis's one must have got a lot worse.

[Zucca]

Another reason for him to move his entire business in front that Apple dealer in NYC.

[EEVblog]

Another reason for him to move his entire business in front that Apple dealer in NYC.

He could crowd fund that 

[nctnico]

Between the fire and the mosque, is Louis's store, so he also certainly has smoke damage in his basement too.

That doesn't sound promising. I hope Louis has good insurance and that he can recover whatever he can for his clients. I imagine some gear in his shop contains data his clients will want to keep. Anyway I hope Louis can get back to 'business as usual' quickly. This is the crap you don't need as a small business owner.

[langwadt]

Somebody decided to speed up the expiration of those leases. Why wait a few years, when a few gallons of gas and a match will do the same in 1 day?

I must admit that was my first thought too

[tooki]

Commercial building in downtown without central cooling?

That is really common in old downtown buildings. You see window units all the time. Adding central air requires adding ductwork inside, as well as the condenser unit outside, which may not be possible if there is no yard space and no roof that can support the weight.

[@rt]

Oh my, I would donate something for that myself.

Another reason for him to move his entire business in front that Apple dealer in NYC.

He could crowd fund that 

[station240]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

[Mr. Scram]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

They're not idiots. They know exactly what they're doing.

[langwadt]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

his own insurance might, it is the insurance of the building that was on fire he should be after

[amyk]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

Just turn them on and let them dry themselves out...

I can understand the smoke getting everywhere, but a bit surprised about the water --- it wasn't his building, it was the one next door (unless they're connected?)

[Red Squirrel]

Got to hate insurance companies, they'll gladly take your money but will find every excuse not to cover stuff.

I guess that's the danger of doing business in a multi unit building is you are really at the mercy of everyone else as far as fire safety goes.

[NiHaoMike]

Name and shame the insurance company so others would know who *not* to get insurance from.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Got to hate insurance companies, they'll gladly take your money but will find every excuse not to cover stuff.

I guess that's the danger of doing business in a multi unit building is you are really at the mercy of everyone else as far as fire safety goes.

Try living in a condo. You can have a dishwasher on a 3rd floor unit leak into a 2nd floor unit, through a common area. Suddenly you have three insurance companies involved.

[chickenHeadKnob]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

They're not idiots. They know exactly what they're doing.

Yup, I would make a wager that the insurance companys involved have actuarial tables which indicate the likely-hood of Rossmann getting a payout if he litigates versus the presumptive cost of litigation for both sides. A $10k-$50k claim sounds like a real dead zone for litigants to me. Less than 10k they might payout to aggressive claimants who are legal savvy and conduct their own nuisance suit. More than some amount, (don't know if $50k is the threshold), and contingency payment ambulance chasers start to get interested.

[Halcyon]

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

His stockpile of Hot Air Rework Stations he sells from his online store were in the basement. Idiot insurance classes this as flooding, rather than damage resulting from fire fighting.

They're not idiots. They know exactly what they're doing.

Yup, I would make a wager that the insurance companys involved have actuarial tables which indicate the likely-hood of Rossmann getting a payout if he litigates versus the presumptive cost of litigation for both sides. A $10k-$50k claim sounds like a real dead zone for litigants to me. Less than 10k they might payout to aggressive claimants who are legal savvy and conduct their own nuisance suit. More than some amount, (don't know if $50k is the threshold), and contingency payment ambulance chasers start to get interested.

Or better yet, Louis can start naming and shaming the insurer. They absolutely hate bad publicity.

[Brumby]

Before we lynch any and all insurance companies - how about we find out what the real situation is on that front?

I have no love for insurance companies, but I do have an aversion to attacks without evidence.


Edit:
Found this in another thread on the same topic.

So I wasn't entirely right. Sounds like his basement was flooded.

https://twitter.com/RossmannGroup/status/1047895333152411648

$10k worth of quicks destroyed by water from putting out the fire. Insurance won't cover shit since it was another store on fire, and water below ground level.

Standing down from my above statement.

Fire away.

[tooki]

That's also quoted in reply #17 above...

[orin]

Stuff might have been drowned, but probably smoke damaged first... perhaps putting the insurance company back on the hook.  Worth investigating IMO.

[Brumby]

That's also quoted in reply #17 above...

I need to stop doing three things at once.

[Zucca]

OT:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/louis-rossmans-store-affected-by-fire/

Dave double posting... please calm down the admins so you will not be banned. 

[Towger]

Stuff might have been drowned, but probably smoke damaged first... perhaps putting the insurance company back on the hook.

Exactly, you have to be careful in how the claim is worded.   He should find a competent lose adjuster and let them handle it.  10k in soldering irons would just be the start of the claim.   Redecorating, smoke damage to their other stock, customers equipment and loss of business etc all have to be taken in to account.

[station240]

Louis had a recent livestream, the shop is totally fine, it looks exactly as it was before.
His stockpile of quicks and ultrasonic cleaners in the basement got flooded.

[cpuerror]

Can we crowdfund a huge dumptruck full of rice to go and pour it into his shop to dry it out??? He is a big fan of rice to fix electronics I understand

[Nusa]

The fire was in a Japanese kitchen. Apparently they didn't have enough rice to absorb the water.

It's only his basement storage that got wet. The rest of his shop is fine.

[Bud]

Is the building going to be demolished, can't he lose his place because of that.

[Macbeth]

The fire was in a Japanese kitchen. Apparently they didn't have enough rice to absorb the water.

It's only his basement storage that got wet. The rest of his shop is fine.

I see what you did there... Rice...

[Mr. Scram]

Louis had a recent livestream, the shop is totally fine, it looks exactly as it was before.
His stockpile of quicks and ultrasonic cleaners in the basement got flooded.

Does is just look fine or is it fine? I've seen books that looked decent but had soot between all the pages. It literally gets everywhere. Smoke damage can be vicious.

[Nusa]

Is the building going to be demolished, can't he lose his place because of that.

Nope. Apparently not even the main part of the building that had the fire has to be demolished. It is in good enough shape the tenants were even allowed in to rescue belongings. Note the picture in the story shows Louis's shop open for business next to the boarded up building:

https://patch.com/new-york/east-village/extension-fire-ravaged-first-ave-building-must-be-razed-dob

[Cyberdragon]

The fire was in a Japanese kitchen.

They must have attempted to actually cook instead of just making sushi.*

*joke puproses only and not an actual review or criticism of the restaurant...even if it no longer exists

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Hopefully all those BGAs got a reflow.

[cdev]

Back in the day (70s and 80s especially) there was a major problem with arson of multifamily buildings in NYC.

Lots of poor people and firefighters, really heroic firefighters who went into burning buildings to save the lives of occupants, ended up burned all over their bodies or dead.

There was a documentary on it, I think its called "The Bronx is Burning".

It was a similar situation to the one in Russia in the 90s involving viatical leases, which I think is what you're maybe referring to?

Somebody decided to speed up the expiration of those leases. Why wait a few years, when a few gallons of gas and a match will do the same in 1 day?

[Cyberdragon]

Wonder if they did the "Batteries Not Included" thing and filled a whole bunch of balloons with gas in the basement and set them off with a molotov.

[Urs42]

There is a german word for that: Warmsanierung (warm renovation)

[amyk]

I found a video of the fire when it began:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_t0Tvd4ekU

The flame is unusually clean and consistent, looks like a gas fire to me.

[tooki]

Back in the day (70s and 80s especially) there was a major problem with arson of multifamily buildings in NYC.

Lots of poor people and firefighters, really heroic firefighters who went into burning buildings to save the lives of occupants, ended up burned all over their bodies or dead.

There was a documentary on it, I think its called "The Bronx is Burning".

Yes, it seems your memory is correct, wiki says that was the title of an episode of the BBC series "Man Alive" in 1976. (Youtube was not immediately forthcoming with a copy; all that comes up is the more recent series of the same name about the 1976 world series.)

Anyway, https://nypost.com/2010/05/16/why-the-bronx-burned/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_disinvestment#New_York_City seem to think that it's urban legend that arson went up, and that in fact it was just the massive reduction in fire services that caused the problems. There seems to be debate on whether building owners minded this or not.

[cdev]

There was a lot of arson. As well as so called 'urban renewal' or slum clearance.


The aftermath looked like photos I have seen of the aftermath of WWII, like Dresden, seriously.




I remember exploring (not burned or otherwise structurally damaged, just condemned!) red tagged buildings during a period in San Francisco when many blocks were in the process of condemnation.  The Fillmore District as it was called.

Where the jazz clubs all were.

Among them were many gorgeous old houses (many were mansions, really) and art deco prewar apartment buildings that were they to have survived to today would be worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.

With all sorts of stylistic art deco touches, exotic woods, marble tile floors.   In SF one could buy beautiful old Victorians for one dollar, on the condition that you had to take it away.

They don't make them like that any more.

What replaced them? Nothing- for more than a decade - in SF the land just remained empty- looking like the post Hiroshima landscape. Eventually (after most of the former residents who had gotten promises of replacement housing) had mostly died, they built just hideously ugly apartment buildings there.

Thats whats there today.

[Mr. Scram]

I found a video of the fire when it began:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_t0Tvd4ekU

The flame is unusually clean and consistent, looks like a gas fire to me.

Wouldn't this be the point where you alert the emergency services and start warning occupants? It seems this guy just kicked back and relaxed.

[Nusa]

I found a video of the fire when it began:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_t0Tvd4ekU

The flame is unusually clean and consistent, looks like a gas fire to me.

It's someones idea of a joke. The 188 rear extension goes to the property line, is the full width of the lot and ends in a windowless wall. The neighboring properties have a 10 foot stone wall in the rear. No iron see-through fences. I know that from the helicopter video of fire response linked much earlier in the other fire thread, but I bet you can see it on google satellite view as well.

[tooki]

I found a video of the fire when it began:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_t0Tvd4ekU

The flame is unusually clean and consistent, looks like a gas fire to me.

Wouldn't this be the point where you alert the emergency services and start warning occupants? It seems this guy just kicked back and relaxed.

Of course, as with a great many “why didn’t the observer do something instead of filming” complaints, you have no way of knowing that they didn’t already do that.

I’ve had to call the fire department for a real fire before. It’s not like an ambulance call where they stay on the line so you can be directed to perform CPR or something. You call, tell them where the fire is, answer a couple of questions, and then you hang up and wait for them to arrive.

[Mr. Scram]

Of course, as with a great many “why didn’t the observer do something instead of filming” complaints, you have no way of knowing that they didn’t already do that.

I’ve had to call the fire department for a real fire before. It’s not like an ambulance call where they stay on the line so you can be directed to perform CPR or something. You call, tell them where the fire is, answer a couple of questions, and then you hang up and wait for them to arrive.

I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just noting that the filming is done in a very relaxed manner. Of course, even after notifying the fire department there could very well be people inside those buildings that need warning. Maybe they were warned, that's possible.

[bloguetronica]

I sound some of the comments n this thread unnecessary and not even amusing. But I guess that it is the issue of the people today: not being human and resorting to make fun of tragedies instead. My two cents.

Kind regards, Samuel Lourenço