After massive fires in Waltham, Mass. and Boston destroyed large residential complex employing wood-frame construction this summer, officials from both municipalities are questioning the safety of wood-frame construction for large apartment complexes and urging the state for stricter regulations on the size of such building.
More than 200 emergency responders battled a large fire at a construction site in College Park, Md. on Monday. Causing approximately $39 million in damages, the fire at the wood-framed apartment complex is the largest “suppression effort and the highest fire loss estimate” in the history of the Prince George County, according to fire department officials.
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation announced Friday afternoon that Pittsburgh’s fire-damaged Liberty Bridge will remain closed indefinitely as crews continue to repair 30 feet of a compression chord on a deck truss that was damaged in a Sept. 2 blaze. PennDOT, which hoped to finish the work by Monday, did not specify when the work would be done.