Fire in Douglas - See Mod note in post #506

TheChizler

beer enigma wrote: »

Local Councillor told me this morning that there is significant water damage to quite a few units but the bigger worry is structural damage to the roof of the centre especially with the fire being on level one

Possibly yes, it helps that the car park was built to the side rather than over the existing centre.

I'd be taking any unofficial sorry with a large pinch of salt at the moment. There was a story going around the village last night that because the fire fighters couldn't access directly they cut holes upper floors to get at the fire. Clearly that was total bollocks.

krissovo

Did anyone figure out what type of car started it? Looked like a SUV, our Volvo has a recall notice for swirl flaps or something and a fire risk.

Atlantic Dawn

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Quick search shows average temp of a gasoline fire is 950 degrees C and upwards with steel starting the fail around 1100 degrees C, that steel is also holding up quite a mass of concrete which could add to it failing quicker.

I'd say over half the cars would have been diesels, that probably 'saved' those on the same floor that didn't explode.

I was on a tour at Spike Island at about 7.30 yesterday evening. I saw black smoke billowing in the sky in the direction of the city. Is it possible that it was the fire in Douglas or is that too far away to see anything?

Gru

Deleted User wrote: »

I was on a tour at Spike Island at about 7.30 yesterday evening. I saw black smoke billowing in the sky in the direction of the city. Is it possible that it was the fire in Douglas or is that too far away to see anything?

That was douglas, plenty of pics were circulating from around Cork showing the smoke. The cloud was huge at its peak.

Portsalon

Deleted User wrote: »

I was on a tour at Spike Island at about 7.30 yesterday evening. I saw black smoke billowing in the sky in the direction of the city. Is it possible that it was the fire in Douglas or is that too far away to see anything?

Almost definitely the fire.

The time is right, and Spike is only about 5km from Douglas SC as the crow flies, although Carrs Hill is in the way, so the smoke must have been quite high for you to see it.

airy fairy

So not knowing anything about construction....is there anything that could have been done to prevent this, ie the warping of floors etc, or is it a given that this can happen again?

Gru

airy fairy wrote: »

So not knowing anything about construction....is there anything that could have been done to prevent this, ie the warping of floors etc, or is it a given that this can happen again?

Having a functioning sprinkler system would either have prevented the fire becoming an issue or mitigated the spread long enough for the fire service to out it.

Other considerations would be to coat all steel work in fire resistant coating/concrete rather than having open beams. Something like Merchants quay I reckon would handle it better (Although I'm unsure they have sprinklers either).

Flesh Gorden

Deleted User wrote: »

I was on a tour at Spike Island at about 7.30 yesterday evening. I saw black smoke billowing in the sky in the direction of the city. Is it possible that it was the fire in Douglas or is that too far away to see anything?

I was coming down the motorway at the time and could see the thick smoke as far as Rathcormac, 30km away from it.

A few mins later after Watergrasshill, 20k away, you could clearly pinpoint the source.

Compared to Sunbeam a few weeks ago, when I was doing the same trip, that looked like a bit of extra low cloud with a faint source

ofcork

If it started with 1 car how did 60 get damaged by the time the fire brigade got there could the spread have been stopped quicker?

Topgear on Dave

ofcork wrote: »

If it started with 1 car how did 60 get damaged by the time the fire brigade got there could the spread have been stopped quicker?

If there was no sprinkler system and the first car burns then I can see how it would spread fast.

The cars are tightly packed together and full of fuel, oil, flammable materials and rubber tyres.

Have you ever seen a tyre burn?, its quite something once it gets alight, then it just goes along the row of cars. Add in a petrol tank going pop and its a mess quite fast I suppose

beer enigma

I'm hearing from a fairly good source that the car that started it was smoking as it was being driven up and the owner parked an jumped out

IF that's the case, and I'm presuming she reported it, how on earth wasnt it dealt with

MrDerp

ofcork wrote: »

If it started with 1 car how did 60 get damaged by the time the fire brigade got there could the spread have been stopped quicker?

I saw a car go on fire stopped at lights on the quays in Dublin years ago. I was outside a pub smoking and saw a guy get out of a car to look at smoke coming out of the car.

It’s a sight to behold how quickly it becomes engulfed. Within 30 seconds the front of the car was in flames and within a minute I’d say ithe whole car went up and was billowing black smoke. It wouldn’t be long jumping to a car 2 feet away.

Odyssey 2005

Brother-in-laws brother had his brand new ,(4 days old) car burned to a cinder in the fire

Itssoeasy

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Brother-in-laws brother had his brand new ,(4 days old) car burned to a cinder in the fire

Jesus that was sicken you. You'd need to take a pint to recover.

airy fairy

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Brother-in-laws brother had his brand new ,(4 days old) car burned to a cinder in the fire

At least he got out to tell the tale.
Insurance should sort it.
Insurance wouldn't sort a death.

Portsalon

If the fire broke out at around 7.00 pm last night and the shops close at 6.00 pm on a Saturday evening then how come there were so many cars in the car park?

Edit - I've just seen that there's a gym in the complex, so presumably it was still open.

gctest50

Doesn't take long :

.

ScrubsfanChris

Portsalon wrote: »

If the fire broke out at around 7.00 pm last night and the shops close at 6.00 pm on a Saturday evening then how come there were so many cars in the car park?

Edit - I've just seen that there's a gym in the complex, so presumably it was still open.

Tesco is open until 11pm

airy fairy

A lot of people use the carpark for Barry's, South County and O'Sulls, especially at the weekend, having a bite to eat after shopping etc.
Carpark will be sorely missed as it's the only unpaid parking around, apart from Douglas Ct with has died.

Atlantic Dawn

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Brother-in-laws brother had his brand new ,(4 days old) car burned to a cinder in the fire

Hopefully works out for him, a good few insurers will replace with brand new car if a new car is wrote off in 1st year.

beer enigma

Cllr. Mary Rose Desmond has asked the council to suspend parking charges

flazio

ofcork wrote: »

If it started with 1 car how did 60 get damaged by the time the fire brigade got there could the spread have been stopped quicker?

It's all to do with firefighter safety, if it's not safe to approach the fire then they can't and it will just have to run its course. If the smoke could be seen from miles around then visibility at the scene would be absolutely zero.

ScrubsfanChris

Seen on twitter they're currently working on getting the undamaged cars out.
What about the cars on level 2 and 3? surely they are stuck as they cant get to the exit...

Harika

Rumour says car park to be closed for 12 months. RIP shopping center

flazio

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Seen on twitter they're currently working on getting the undamaged cars out.
What about the cars on level 2 and 3? surely they are stuck as they cant get to the exit...

They are stuck for now but there are methods available to temporarily stabilise level 1 long enough to drive them out.

Chris_5339762

Carnage on the South Ring West this Sunday afternoon... down to one lane. Is that really necessary or are there still hotspots there that they have to deal with? That better be open by tomorrow mornings rush hour... its going to be bad enough as it is with rubberneckers over the next while.

TheChizler

TheChizler wrote: »

You're assuming the entire centre will be closed for an extended period, but I haven't seen any reports of anything beyond the car park being affected. They'll have to do safety checks sure but they might not take that long.

Actually just thinking now the lack of parking is likely to be a bigger cause for concern for traders rather than any direct damage to their units.

Atlantic Dawn

Harika wrote: »

Rumour says car park to be closed for 12 months. RIP shopping center

Without a car park the shopping centre is dead in the water.

ScrubsfanChris

TheChizler wrote: »

Actually just thinking now the lack of parking is likely to be a bigger cause for concern for traders rather than any direct damage to their units.

Meanwhile, Douglas Court coming up to Christmas.............