# another massive skyscraper fire **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 3, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728 "2017-08-03T23:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/1 "2017-08-03T23:21:59Z")
> **[Dubai skyscraper fire: Torch Tower residents wake to screams as flames engulf...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/03/dubai-skyscraper-fire-1100ft-torch-tower-engulfed-flames/)** > > A fire ripped through one of the world's tallest residential towers in Dubai on Thursday night, sending panicked residents fleeing from the building. > [@](#): > > Dubai’s Torch skyscraper has been engulfed in a huge fire, as scores of firefighters battled to control the blaze and evacuate the tower. That’s an unfortunate name for a building that’s apparently caught fire twice now. I hope everyone is able to evacuate. Fortunately, it looks like the fire is mostly on one side of the building. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/2 "2017-08-03T23:56:10Z")
I know it’s hot there but how hard is it to keep buildings from catching on fire? I see they used that cladding stuff that was such a disaster in England. Not allowed here in the US, just another one of those pesky regulations everyone wants to get rid of. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/3 "2017-08-04T00:19:39Z")
I don’t know of anyone that’s pushed to remove that particular building code. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/4 "2017-08-04T00:50:34Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t know of anyone that’s pushed to remove that particular building code. It does remind me of this article from the last bad fire. [Some U.S. States Relax Restrictions On Cladding Suspected In Grenfell Tower Fire : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2017/06/24/534100561/some-u-s-states-relax-restrictions-on-cladding-suspected-in-grenfell-tower-fire) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/5 "2017-08-04T01:10:56Z")
Since no one was hurt, can we all watch and go, “Oooooooooo!”? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/6 "2017-08-04T03:33:35Z")
nm duplicate link ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/7 "2017-08-04T04:22:53Z")
double ninja’d ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/8 "2017-08-04T05:24:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t know of anyone that’s pushed to remove that particular building code. > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > It does remind me of this article from the last bad fire. [Some U.S. States Relax Restrictions On Cladding Suspected In Grenfell Tower Fire : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2017/06/24/534100561/some-u-s-states-relax-restrictions-on-cladding-suspected-in-grenfell-tower-fire) This quote seems relevant. > [@](#): > > Cost is a primary reason the D.C. Construction Codes Coordinating Board, which is under the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, removed the testing requirement. DCRA spokesman Matt Orlins says that during a 2012 code review process, building designers said they were concerned about the difficulty of finding cladding that passed the NFPA 285 test. > > “The board agreed that the concerns were valid and that other portions of the codes did provide safeguards,” says Orlins. So the board eliminated the requirement. > > Advocates for eliminating the NFPA 285 testing requirement have said it’s a prudent cost-saving change, given the lack of dramatic fires in the United States like the Grenfell Tower fire. And they point out that most fires start inside a building, where required sprinklers are likely to keep a fire from spreading to the cladding outside. > > NPR contacted firms that have pushed for code changes in the District and Minnesota, but those businesses either did not respond or declined to comment. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/9 "2017-08-04T05:27:01Z")
Ignorance fought. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/10 "2017-08-04T05:38:44Z")
That really is a [beautiful shot of the Torch Tower](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/08/04/TELEMMGLPICT000136507702_1_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqytxLMmtfp3sC_cEhhtHl3-Sq2vOoHVhVh4Ty00DIiZk.jpeg?imwidth=480). I say it was worth it since they’re rich and nobody got hurt. They could put it in the marketing materials and sell it as _The Towering Inferno Experience._ ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/11 "2017-08-04T12:45:05Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s an unfortunate name for a building that’s apparently caught fire twice now. seriously sounds like evacuation went well but still, would you live in a building that tall? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/12 "2017-08-04T13:39:21Z")
They need to rename that building. ASAP Perhaps Da Bomb would be better? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/13 "2017-08-04T14:42:55Z")
Redecorate some palm fronds and parrots and rename it the Tiki Torch. Sell beer and pink drinks with little umbrellas. It’ll be a big hit. If not, they can always have a fire sale. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/14 "2017-08-04T15:14:42Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Ignorance fought. Thanks. No problem. I didn’t know any of the details either until I read that link. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/15 "2017-08-04T23:41:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Redecorate some palm fronds and parrots and rename it the Tiki Torch. Sell beer and pink drinks with little umbrellas. It’ll be a big hit. If not, they can always have a fire sale. oooh, burn is it insensitive to be making jokes? maybe it’s not too bad because nobody died. or even was hurt, last I heard. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/16 "2017-08-05T00:37:36Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > is it insensitive to be making jokes? maybe it’s not too bad because nobody died. or even was hurt, last I heard. Well, also, it’s a building that’s literally named the “Torch”, and it’s caught fire. _Twice._ You’d have to be a Vulcan or an android or something _not_ to make a few wisecracks about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/17 "2017-08-05T01:33:13Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > but still, would you live in a building that tall? :dubious: It took the first responders 10 minutes to make it up to the 50th floor, which is something you have to take into account. So, no I do not think I would want to live in a building that tall. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-massive-skyscraper-fire/792728/18 "2017-08-05T02:14:09Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > would you live in a building that tall? :dubious: Sure… if I’m in, like, the 5th floor 😛