Comment 80020

By highwater (registered) | Posted August 23, 2012 at 11:30:17 in reply to Comment 80006

Fascinating article.

In addition to public health, one of the main motivations behind the construction of Hamilton's original waterworks was to provide reliable water infrastructure for firefighting. The cost of fire insurance for businesses was prohibitively high due to the high frequency of fires at that time.

The construction of a reliable water system was a signal to businesses and insurance cos. that Hamilton was 'open for business', and the Gore Park fountain was built to drive the message home.

The article also put me in mind of an interesting email exchange I was copied on several years ago, between the head of our neighbourhood association and the fire chief at the time, about the hundreds of illegal student rental houses in our area.

Because they are considered 'family' homes, there are no fire exits, and many students live in basements and attics with only one means of egress, low ceilings, doors and windows too small to meet code, and in some cases, no windows at all. And of course, many of them are older homes with knob and tube wiring.

In spite of all this, the Fire Chief told our NA president that the fire dept did not consider students to be at higher risk because they are 'young and educated'. It was very surprising to learn that the fire dept (at least at that time) considered the socio-economic status of the residents to be a far bigger determinant of risk of fire, than the safety of the buildings. He also did not seem to factor in students' increased alcohol consumption - one of the main causes for the increase in fire-related deaths associated with the holidays.

I should add this exchange took place several years ago before the tragic house fire in Ainslie Wood that killed 5 people, and the two subsequent student house fires - one of which the students in the basement rooms only narrowly escaped.

If the fire dept. is still basing its risk assessments on the socio-economic status of the residents, this makes the removal of an apparatus from ward 3 all the more questionable.

Comment edited by highwater on 2012-08-23 12:02:33

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