Mountainside Condo's at Sugarbush fire

[ALLSKIING]

Earlier this year I rented in trail creek and Killington. When I walked into the unit I noticed it was filled with smoke. Walked over to the fireplace and fresh wood was just put in and the damper was closed. My guess is the the maid staff put new wood in and closed the damper was still a bit hot

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[ALLSKIING]

I dont like that the new condos being built only have gas fireplaces, but it is evidently a wise move. some people just cant be trusted with fire.

I agree with this. I hate gas fireplaces but people just dont get that it can stay hot for over 48hrs.

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[drjeff]

I agree with this. I hate gas fireplaces but people just dont get that it can stay hot for over 48hrs.

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Exactly! This is why (or at least what I tell my wife ) I refuse to clean the ashes out of the fireplace often for weeks after the last fire! (of course it has nothing to do with cleaning out the fireplace being one of my least favorite household chores to do! )

 

[steamboat1]

I believe every unit in the Mountainside complex had/has a fireplace.

 

[fbrissette]

My guess is that condo association will ban the usage of fireplace by the guest pretty soon.

The condo association may not, but the insurance company definitely will.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I hate leaving my flue open all week so first thing Sunday morning I spread all my coals around in a thin layer.They are out by the time I leave later in the day and the flue gets closed.

 

[steamboat1]

We have a large metal canister outside our house where you can deposit coals even when they're still hot. One canister is inside another canister with a lid covering the larger outside canister. Works well for us.

 

[telenathan]

I won one of the undamaged Mountainside units, there is a firewall (or at least a brick wall) between each stack of three units, but it seems like the walls only slowed the fire. The fire walls stop just below the roof so the fire probably jumped overt he top of them. All of the units have fireplaces in them, but they also have electric baseboards that can also be a fire hazard, so "heating unit" May or may not be the fireplace.


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[darent]

I enjoyed the comment by the fire chief, he stated that when fires happen they only loose about four units normally, not entire complexes!! holy crap, building standards must be crap in vermont. couldn't convince me to buy a condo at sugarbush with a statement like that,

 

[billski]

How Sugarbush helped

More details. Great to see how Win chipped in

"And then we were hailed by Sugarbush representative that were sent to take us all to safety. We were taken to Timbers and greeted by anyone that Win Smith could get there to make coffee, bring water for the dogs, and provide warm shelter, as well as breakfast! We cannot give enough praise and thanks to Win and his staff of caring, and kind people who patted our animals, and made us as comfortable as we could be! God bless you all,"
Source: http://www.mountainsidefire.org


"Vermont State Police Sgt. Mark Potter said the cause of the fire is still uncertain, but he said the fireplace inserts in the units are known for heating up over time"
...
Firefighters and Sugarbush personnel also did some trenching in the snow to divert the water from the fire into the storm drainage system, the ditches and Rice Brook.
...
They were able to open the second hydrant and began pumping water onto the fire at a rate of 600 gallons per minute. Initially, they were using the Mountain Water Company’s domestic water supply.
...

When the demand from the pumper trucks began to outstrip the ability of the domestic water system to keep up, Sugarbush got snowmaking personnel to fire up the snowmaking system and 5-inch water hoses were unfurled from the closest snowmaking hydrant up to the fire. For four hours, the fire was fought using water from both systems.
...
Merrill, at Sugarbush, said this week’s fire marked the first time Sugarbush’s snowmaking pond (filled with water from the Mad River) had been used for firefighting. He said the amount of water that went into fighting the fire was the equivalent of one 1,000-gallon pumper truck per minute and noted that the fire visibly dropped the level of the snowmaking pond.
...
Merrill and other Sugarbush employees were on scene from 3 a.m., shuttling the displaced condo residents to Timbers at Lincoln Peak for coffee, fruit, juice and a warm place to stay."

Source: http://www.stowetoday.com/waterbury_record

Way to go Win and crew!

 

[dlague]

Yeah. my math sucks. first off condo are probably $150k on average not $250k. Then I rounded up to 40 units.

If 33 units are destroyed at $2m that is only $60k per unit. Doesn't that sound really low?

Rebuilding cost not what they are worth? Although they are probably worth more than 150K at Sugarbush.

 

[steamboat1]

2 bedroom condo at the mountainside complex was listed at $199,000.

 

[billski]

Rebuilding cost not what they are worth? Although they are probably worth more than 150K at Sugarbush.

Insurance does not cover the cost of the land.

 

[hiroto]

Came across this on "Drone ... " thread.