Looks pretty serious.

Post some pictures!

http://tinyurl.com/yerobm6

I didn't take that, but it was from before I got outside (I live at the Hermitage). Found that on Twitter via WUSA9

My shitty photo (other side of the building):

http://tinyurl.com/y8kgc79

Building is fucked. My girlfriend talked to one of the fire fighters a few minutes ago, who said nobody was hurt, thankfully.

Billy shouldn't be playing with the meth lab anymore



edit by Cary: Made thumbnail of huge image, click for full-size original.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2010 10:04PM by Cary.

PAtrick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>


So, Patrick. You pay extra for that hideous fcking horse head in front of your place?

Great picture, I wish I had a 100 inch monitor

Razz, big enough pic there, guy?

Your Face Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://tinyurl.com/yerobm6
>
> I didn't take that, but it was from before I got
> outside (I live at the Hermitage). Found that on
> Twitter via WUSA9
>
> My shitty photo (other side of the building):
>
> http://tinyurl.com/y8kgc79
>
> Building is fucked. My girlfriend talked to one of
> the fire fighters a few minutes ago, who said
> nobody was hurt, thankfully.


Thankfully, a non boring, non retarded poster. Thanks for the pics and the info.

Ohhhh fuckin shit! Holy hell....How the fuck do I delete that pic off here>? I will resize the pics I have and then post them again. Oh and also, what's a good editing program for vids because I have some vids but they are too large to post on here.

You can't. Use the focus next time too bro. =P

pics Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great picture, I wish I had a 100 inch monitor

lol

pgens Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> pics Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great picture, I wish I had a 100 inch monitor
>
> lol


Why do you have a big gap at the end of your posts?

razz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ohhhh fuckin shit! Holy hell....How the fuck do I
> delete that pic off here>? I will resize the pics
> I have and then post them again. Oh and also,
> what's a good editing program for vids because I
> have some vids but they are too large to post on
> here.

Razz,

I resized the image for you. If you have additional pictures feel free to post them here as is and I will resize them as well. If you have videos that are too big to post here please simply upload them here: http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/media/uploadfile.html

I will take care of the video resizing for you.

- Cary
--the admin

Any idea who's doing the board up service. ?
Who is the management?
I heard one fire man got taken to the hospital and he was screaming may day. He fell and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Thanks.

Just went back outside. All emergency vehicles are gone. Not sure who is doing the board up. I will say, though, that you can tell how cheaply these units were made. I wanted to take some pictures but:

1. There were people who live on the lower floors emptying their spaces
2. My camera was dead

Soooo...

The top floor (technically the 3rd, but you walk in on the first and there's a "sub" floor, so it's really the 4th floor of the building) is completely gutted. From what I can tell, it didn't make its way down to the next floor, but that's just based on the outward appearance. Gub'ment is closed tomorrow, so needless to say I'll be out taking some pictures when good taste permits.

The Hermitage was recently purchased by Avalon. Previously it was Lincoln Properties. Sure that the Avalon people didn't expect this when they bought it.

On a side note - Avalon (or, at least the crew that's managing this property) sucks pretty hard. I'm moving out in less than a month after living here for 3 years. 4 months of the new management was enough for me to make that decision.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0210/704277.html

I live 3 buildings down..needless to say pretty weird scary situation to come home to.

Audio of the incident. Mayday call starts around the 5:45 mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vEQ6IhV-I

B Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Audio of the incident. Mayday call starts around
> the 5:45 mark.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vEQ6IhV-I


Scary stuff

I live at the hermitage, my mum was going to work when one of our neighbors was knocking on our doors telling us there's a fire somewhere. She just told me to get my cell n get in the car, by then it was only a little fire, and you could only see some smoke.

we got back from her job around 8:30 this morning, and drove around to see what had really happened this is what it looks like right about now..Not sure the pics some out so big..(the pics kinda suck but u get the idea)

My mom was worried the fire would spread since these buildings are so old, We lived in this same building we're in since 1993 when i was born..
scary shit..







edit by Cary: Made thumbnails of huge images. Click for full-size originals.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2010 09:07PM by Cary.

Dave Statter from WUSA has a great site if you want to follow this type of incident on a national basis...

http://statter911.com/

Irfanview. do it. do it.

Good pics... I live there too and was trying to figure out exactly what happened and if anyone was hurt. I'm glad you all posted this stuff so I could tell. As far as I knew, the unit was far away enough from mine but I could see the fire and smell it last night. Looked like it displaced alot of people for a while. Felt horrible for them,

I also have to agree that the new management, Avalon, sucks. If I had the option at the moment, I'd move too. Makes me wonder what they plan to do when they return to work this morning to deal with the damage considering they haven't dealt well with managing the rest of the property well.

Everyone here is taking a big dump on Avalon, but this could have been prevented (or minimized) by Lincoln Property. About 7 years ago, Lincoln Property renovated all of the apartment buildings. They started with the vacant ones and then forced all of the tenants still there to move to new units so they could finish renovating all of the apartments.

Lincoln Property, in their infinite wisdom, failed to install a SPRINKLER SYSTEM when they renovated.

I think it's building code now, and I believe it was back in 2003, but because they weren't changing the walls or ceilings, or anything structural, they didn't have to add the system.

So yeah, Avalon sucks, but in reality, this is more on Lincoln Property for being cheap ass bastards.

To top all that, they had 10ft of snow covering over the fire hydrant on the top deck of the garage. A few of us residence were making an effort to grab shovels to help the fire fighters get access to the fire hydrant. The units at the Hermitage is def a POS!! I'm glad we're moving out of there in less than a month also! And I'm sure they'll have a fine for blocking the fire hydrant.

For the record - I'm dumping on Avalon from a management standpoint. I realize that they couldn't have prevented this. They COULD have, however, been smarter about how they cleaned up the parking lot. The upper level of the garage is a solid sheet of ice. I have never seen them putting down salt. Plus, as was already mentioned they covered fire hydrants with 10-foot piles of snow.

There seems to be a general disinterest in the property by the management. I liked the way Lincoln managed the place.

So sad to hear about the fire fighters injured.

Two firefighters injured in Fair Oaks fire
Two Fairfax County firefighters were injured Monday night while trying to put out a fire in an apartment building at 4224 Hunt Club Circle in Fair Oaks. A third-floor roof collapse sent one firefighter tumbling from a burning balcony and injured one other. Authorities said neither injury is life-threatening.

The fire began on the top floor of a garden apartment at about 6 p.m., and flames quickly spread to the attic and the roof, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Officials said "improper disposal of fireplace ashes" caused the fire, which displaced 20 people from 16 apartments. It took 60 firefighters -- challenged with snow, ice and difficult road conditions -- approximately 40 minutes to bring the fire under control.

WIth the cold temperatures, the snow already on the ground and more expected Tuesday and Wednesday, many people have been turning to indoor fires and heating units to fight the chills. With power outages across the region, some have turned to such heating methods as their only source of warmth.

Officials warn that indoor fires and other, more unconventional, heating methods could pose serious risks if not carefully watched and tended. For example, fireplace ashes should always be disposed of in a metal container with a lid and never in a cardboard box, paper bag, or other flammable containers. Fireplace ashes often contain smoldering embers and can be deceptively hot.

And you should never use a charcoal grill or electrical generator inside your home, as they can emit colorless, odorless and tasteless carbon monoxide, which can cause serious injuries and death. Same goes for sitting in a non-ventilated car for heat. My colleague Matt Zapotosky wrote about several cases in the area
some resulting in tragic circumstances when people were just trying to stay warm.

-- Josh White

I'm a resident and I find it crazy how just a month or so ago Avalon sent a letter requiring all residents to have renter's insurance. Also, they sent a letter asking people not to park in the spots labeled "no parking" because it would inhibit emergency vehicles. I smell a conspiracy!

My family are moving out of the Hermitage after 3 years, because we're not fans of the Avalon management group. They really need to hire better people to plow. The complex right behind the hermitage, has totally clear parking lots. We have an ice skating rink. THe fire was razy and I'm glad no one was hurt seriously. The firefighters have to hate the snow, but it probably saved the one that fell.

Sounds like some stupid shit put hot ashes in a flamable container. Nice of him/her to displace 20 people due to a lack of common sense. There sould be some sort of quiz one must take to live in a multi-unit dwelling. Im suprized they even put fire places in apartment buildings knowing how dumb some people are. I feel bad for the people who lost everything.

Id heard the story was on the news, but ive yet to see anything on it.
Id heard it was from hot ashes, (as the above post mentioned) being dumped over the balcony. i was hoping anyone had heard more.

I live at the hermitage, just a few buildings down, and across the garage.
my boyfriend and i were on rt 50, when we saw a cop turn on its sirens, and we followed it to west ox, where it met up with a fire truck, as soon as it came to the light, i knew it was going to turn down monument, then i saw all of the emergency vehicles.

we went into the complex, and we approached the scene of the fire, right after the firefighter had fallen of the balcony.

anyway,
i thought it was weird with the renters insurance policy becoming official exactly one week ago.

i think the entire complex is a deathtrap, and im sick of this new management. AvalonBay needs to seriously look at how things are being run.

as for illegally parking in emergency zones, im confused, is this for emergencies or for the maintenance to park there golfcarts? doesnt seem very consistant although, motorcycles park there all year long.

you could blame the residents, but really. when there are no clear parking spots, the entire garage of hunt club circle is a death trap.
when was the last time they SALTED ice? i almost slip down the entire ramp on morning. as soon as i got out of the complex, i discovered, the rest of fairfax county was clear.


and is anyone else sick of hearing fire and rescue vehicles once a week?
i know the hermitage is right next to emt stations, but when the calls come to your neighborhood 90% of the time? i mean, really.

I have never seen them put salt down. I did see a guy in a small Bobcat (or whatever) breaking up some ice, but he only cleared the area on the Hunt Club side at the bottom of the ramp.

The new management absolutely is the pits. Nobody in the office can help with anything. The maintenance line is now a national call center and nothing ever gets done. We're not even ALLOWED to put in maintenance tickets until Friday because of the snow.

Everything here is half-assed. I liked Lincoln Properties (and will be moving to another Lincoln Property next month).

Are ther any Lincoln properties in the Fair lakes area? I've lived at the Hermitage for over 5 years...I'm sick of it all as well. It's so nice living next to a condemned building with Police tape around it. Good luck dodging all the dog shit left around everywhere and all the piles of trashbags outside everyone's apartments.

I used to live at hermitage and moved due to and expanding family. However, I do know that when Lincoln was there, when they renovated Lincoln tried to put in sprinklers, the OWNERS (which are not lincoln) would not take on the extra expense! So therefore it was not LINCOLN who was the cheapskates. I know this for a fact as I asked about it when I lived there and was told the owners which are a bunch of people who just sit back and collect the $$ rolling in, did not want to have an added cost!
It is sad that a firefighter or even two are hurt due to someone being cheap. I transferred to another Lincoln managed apartment in the area and love it. And they DO have sprinklers!!!!
Take a look around the corner at Lincoln @ Fair Oaks! I checked there but they had nothing available for me at the time!

Lincoln at Fair Oaks is right around the corner and much nicer. I did! Soon as my lease is up, I'll be moving there!

My lease is up in 25 days.

In 23 days, I move into Lincoln at Fair Oaks.

SO I TOOK YOUR ADVICE BEFORE YOU EVEN GAVE IT.

Teach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good work. Now go ahead and add up the number of
> mall shootings in all the other countries, and
> then compare that to the number of mall shootings
> here in the US alone. Be sure to share with
> everyone what you get, I'll be checking for
> accuracy.

I'm sure he doesn't have time to compile a list of the hundreds of shooting incidents that have happened at our nation's malls, gang related or no (since that apparently counts).

Let's not concern ourselves with school shooting shall we? After all, pro-Second Amendment folks often say that evil people will find others ways of hurting innocent people with or without guns.

So let's look at massacres done at schools whether a gun was used or not. The US has the proud distinction of having five of the top ten deadliest incidents, in four of which only guns were used to kill. And that's only the top ten. Wait 'til you get a load of the rest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers:_School_massacres

There's only like two more, right? The US doesn't have disproportionate amount of massacres in schools whether a gun was used or not (although there's only a few incidences on our soil where a gun was NOT solely used), right? And the total body county isn't disproportionately higher in the US, is it?

That would be very inconvenient. Wikipedia is a biased liberal site anyway.

Keep Trying Idiot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Teach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Good work. Now go ahead and add up the number
> of
> > mall shootings in all the other countries, and
> > then compare that to the number of mall
> shootings
> > here in the US alone. Be sure to share with
> > everyone what you get, I'll be checking for
> > accuracy.
>
> I'm sure he doesn't have time to compile a list of
> the hundreds of shooting incidents that have
> happened at our nation's malls, gang related or no
> (since that apparently counts).
>
> Let's not concern ourselves with school shooting
> shall we? After all, pro-Second Amendment folks
> often say that evil people will find others ways
> of hurting innocent people with or without guns.
>
> So let's look at massacres done at schools whether
> a gun was used or not. The US has the proud
> distinction of having five of the top ten
> deadliest incidents, in four of which only guns
> were used to kill. And that's only the top ten.
> Wait 'til you get a load of the rest:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_ > killers:_School_massacres
>
> There's only like two more, right? The US doesn't
> have disproportionate amount of massacres in
> schools whether a gun was used or not (although
> there's only a few incidences on our soil where a
> gun was NOT solely used), right? And the total
> body county isn't disproportionately higher in the
> US, is it?
>
> That would be very inconvenient. Wikipedia is a
> biased liberal site anyway.

How embarrassing.