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OKRICHLAND
03-04-2005, 12:55 PM
Burglar Bars Can Trap And Kill Whole Families In A Fire ! ! !

I have always taken off all of the burglar bars in any home or multi units that I have bought.

I know that there are investors out there that pay no mind towards
the overall safety of their tenants, unless it concerns a possible law suit.

That's ok, I'm not talking to you.

For the other interested readers, I know that the following may sound a little harsh but it needs to be....

...I grew up in a family of fire fighters and cops.
I have seen the worst case scenarios.

In just the past 6 months I have witnessed the deaths of two separate families in two separate house fires. (Within 5 miles of me)
The most recent was two days ago.
A family of 6.
The only young girl that was able to make it out alive, went racing back
into the burning building to try to save anyone she could.
She never made it back out.

The house was a two story multi-unit converted to a single family dwelling.
There were bars on the outsides of all the windows, both upper and lower.
The home where the friends of the family gathered for the memorial had bars on all the windows also.
The landlord of that building publicly stated that he plans to do absolutely nothing in order to make his building safer.
I am embarrassed to live in the same town or share the same occupation as these types of land owners.

Like I said, I'm not talking to you!

The other family was in a single story home with bars on all of the windows and doors.
As the mother was on the phone to 911 you could hear them screaming in the background, A whole family of 5 + a young girl who was spending the night.
None of them could escape because of the bars on the windows and doors,
also the garage was filled with boxes and stuff wich also blocked them in.
The mother franticly stayed on the phone begging for help until all became silent.


Folks, all I'm asking is that for the people that are just getting started in this business to consider safety first and then profit.
If you want those bars, then at least get the new ones with safty (Quick Release) escape latches.
Put at least two smoke detectors in each dwelling unit that you own.
(This means, for every single family) (Multi-units need at least two per family).
Give each family a medium sized fire extinguisher.
Mount it under the kitchen sink. Show the family how to use it, when they sign the lease. :SM104: It only takes a few seconds.
I guarantee that your tenants will think that your the neatest landlord in the world.
And last but not least, Be sure to check all the smoke detectors in Jan of each year.
We can start a new generation of "Safety First" landlords. :SM086: :SM086:
Don't let any of the other seasoned landlords try to tell you that
this is more trouble and more cost than it's worth. (It's really not, just figure that extra $80 into your rehab budget)
And when it comes to that money first landlord, just leave that one behind in your dust trail and Fly baby, Fly...... :thumbup:

Please feel free to copy this and paste it on every investment web sit that you can think of, then re-post it at least once a year, every year.
Over time we can make a difference.

CharleyB
03-04-2005, 02:28 PM
Very important and timely post!
Bravo!!!!!!!!!
All the Best,
CharleyB
www.rockyfordinternational.net

chitchat
03-04-2005, 04:33 PM
I hate bars on windows ...it screams, "this is an unsafe neighborhood -better be afraid to live here." I feel this way even though I live in the ghetto. I've found communicating with the neighbors and watching out for them to be a better solution overall.

In my state fire detectors are required by law (I knew the kid whose death inspired the law) and it's important to check them at least annually. Fire extinguishers are good and I provide them as well, but they need to be recharged every so often as well. I perform a safety inspection every 6 months, and I make sure to include the Water heater as well. Some people don't realize how dangerous it is to place items so close to them. They are they cause of far too many fires in my opinion. I've also known tenants to "borrow" the battery from the fire detector for use in some other item.

Great post -OKRICHLAND!

OKRICHLAND
03-07-2005, 02:33 AM
Thanks for your support guys,
it really means a lot to know that some have received this plea
with an open mind.
You Will Be Blessed... :thumbsup:
Dave R.

Luci Marcum
03-11-2005, 01:47 AM
Burglar bars are something I never really gave much thought to until I read your post. Thank you very much for posting this extremely useful and life saving information!

OKRICHLAND
03-13-2005, 03:11 AM
Burglar bars are something I never really gave much thought to until I read your post. Thank you very much for posting this extremely useful and life saving information!

I want to thank you once again for your support and open mindedness concerning this all important issue.

Well, I have good news and bad news.

I'll give you the bad news first.

It's happened again Folks.
Just five blocks from the house that burned last week and took five lives,
another multi-family building went up in flames just this afternoon.

A young woman was cooking in her apartment when the grease she was heating caught on fire.

She grabbed a bowl full of water and threw it onto the flames.
BAD MOVE ! ! !

The water caused the flames to rage out of control.
She ran across the hall to the neighbor in the unit next door.
He had a fire extinguisher but by the time he got over to her kitchen it was too late, the room was totally involved.

The first thing she did was to start pounding on doors and evacuating the four unit building.

First one alarm, Then two alarms.
In a short amount of time this fire had quickly spread to a
three alarm blaze.

All was lost in every apartment unit.

The GOOD NEWS:
all of the people in the building escaped with no injuries.

They speak with words of all of the things that they have lost in the blaze, yet with their eyes, we see the gratitude of life that each of them holds so dear after being bombarded for the past week with the news and tragic deaths of their close neighbors.

The damage to the building: Over $100,000

A total loss.

All of this could have been prevented if the owner of the building would have
provided a simple low cost fire extinguisher and a few simple instructions.

PLEASE REMEMBER: SMOKE DETECTERS, a FIRE EXTENGUISHER and a few minutes of simple instruction can go a long, long way.