Could the N.J. Avalon fire happen here?

This is a very unfortunate accident to happen to the Avalon Mews Edgewater NJ apartments. The people were all removed safely and all the fire equipment worked properly. In a statement by Avalon construction expert, Michael Feign to the New York Times he said” “The community was built in accordance with the fire and safety codes applicable at the time, The purpose of those codes is not to prevent the building from burning down, but rather to ensure that there is sufficient time and opportunity for all occupants to exit safely in the event of a fire.

Tom Jacobson the Edgewater Fire chief said, “If it was made out of concrete and cinder block, we wouldn’t have this sort of problem,” Well maybe we should insist that any new AvalonBay in RVC built from cinder block and cement.

This is the second fire at the site. The Avalon Mews building construction was burnt to the ground in 2000. They later built the Avalon Mews on the site in 2002 at the cost of 75 million. In 2000 the New York Times story said” Fire officials were especially concerned because Avalon River Mews, built on the site of an old Alcoa aluminum plant, is only about a hundred yards from a tank farm -- a field of giant tanks filled with gasoline. Only an empty warehouse stands between the condominium complex and the tanks.

It is interesting to me that AvalonBay is building at 80 North Centre without fully investigating that the property is contamination free. The AvalonBay building across the street needed to have a full blown study and a one year DE-contamination project before building could start.

The one thing that concerns me is there were two buildings at the complex in Edgewater one with 240 units and the other with 168 units. The buildings are located close together and are similar to AvalonBay RVC. They are both high density buildings located on 7.1 acre. Avalon Mews unit density is 57.3. This is much lower than the 75 units per acre for AvalonBay ll approved by the RVC BZA n January 7, 2015.

This recent fire at Avalon Mews alarms me for the density and the safety of the residents during a fire. The property is 7.1 acres which allows greater access for firefighting equipment. AvalonBay ll has 165 units on a much smaller 2.2 acre property.

The density and small property in my opinion makes the AvalonBay ll a greater risk for a quick fire. If the project was smaller with fewer units like a 100 it would be more manageable and safer for fire fighting.