TVCC IS ON FIRE!!!

[zhwj]

You read the Xinhua report, which says "An atrium and a digital computer room in the building were burnt down." Ah, not too bad. Then you look at the elevation: the atrium stretches 25 floors!

[flameproof]

The day after....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzheado/sets/72157613554656534/

Looks quite bad. I wonder if they have to knock it down completely.

[gato]

The officials are referring to 业主单位 instead of CCTV directly in talking about the cause of the fire.

http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2009-02/10/content_1226456.htm

中央电视台新址工地火灾系执意违法燃放烟花所致

中央政府门户网站　www.gov.cn 2009年02月10日　　 来源：新华社

新华社北京２月１０日电（记者 李舒）北京市消防局１０日上午权威发布，９日晚央视新址园区附属文化中心工地发生的严重火灾，系业主单位不听治安民警劝阻，执意违法燃放烟花所致，目前涉案嫌疑人和物证已被警方监控。

据北京市公安局消防局副局长、新闻发言人骆原介绍，着火的文化中心大楼尚未正式投入使用，也没有通过消防验收。消防部门初步调查显示，引燃大楼的烟花是礼花弹。９日晚上，业主单位聘用湖南某烟花爆竹公司人员，在大楼西南角空地上燃放礼花弹。现场遗留了上百个礼花弹桶以及玻璃钢容器。

[roddy]

There's some interesting reading here, including:

There are huge rubber sheets running down the entire walls of the building in the latticework which supports the outer metal shell. No firestoppers anywhere from the top of the walls at the roof, all the way to the ground.

Seems a firework got in from the top or somewhere, set the rubber on fire which then burned up and down inside the walls from the roof to the ground. A 30 floor chimney effect, with all that rubber on fire at once, un-firestopped from top to bottom, would be a spectacular fire, and impossible to put out as well as its within the outer walls. It would also have spread extremely fast from top to bottom of the structure.

Not sure if it is a design mistake or a construction mistake, but this disaster was just waiting to happen..

Although it's hard to tell what's useful and what's speculation.

And as for "业主单位不听治安民警劝阻" - guess the 民警 don't have powers of arrest to go with their license to dissuade?

[peekay]

Interesting info from the Wall Street Journal, quoting a safety expert on why the fire might have spread so quickly:

There was international dismay at the destruction of an integral part of a widely acclaimed architectural wonder. Carl Galioto, a partner at the New York office of architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and an expert in high-rise safety, said after watching a video of the Beijing fire that its size and fury were unprecedented. "I've never seen one like that. What a nightmare. It's incredible," he said.

While not knowing specifics, he said high-rise towers under construction are vulnerable to quickly spreading fires. "There's no compartmentalization on the floors to limit the fire spreading," he said. Compartmentalization typically includes fire doors, fire-resistant drywall, fire-resistant floors and other internal structures that serve as fire breaks.

Mr. Galioto said it is possible that building materials were stored on the floors and served as fuel for the fire.

Quickly spreading high-rise fires are rare and almost never occur where functioning sprinkler systems are in effect. "In occupied high-rises, there are sprinklers, and that will suppress the fire at its source," he said. "Even if a sprinkler isn't functioning on one floor, it will suppress it when the fire gets to a floor that is sprinkled."

[gato]

CCTV has now apologized for the fire:

http://news.cctv.com/china/20090210/106444.shtml

中央电视台就在建新址配楼发生火灾真诚道歉

The responsible 单位 is now said to be the 中央电视台新台址建设工程办公室.

这次火灾是由于工程项目业主管理单位中央电视台新台址建设工程办公室主要负责人未经请示批准，擅自雇佣人员，违规燃放烟花酿成的。

The man in charge of the construction management office has been detained. But the fireworks cost RMB 1 million (not counting the building) and four cameras were filming the whole scene, so it seems unlikely the construction manager alone made the call.

http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-02-10/110054742.html

央视新址火灾相关责任人被控制

《财经》记者 欧阳洪亮 朱弢 罗洁琪 [2009年02月10日 20:02]

[randall_flagg]

这次火灾

Here's a language question that is right on topic: when would you call it 这起火灾？

Would you call it 起 if more people had perished?

Do you feel that there is a qualitative difference here between

这起火灾

and

这次火灾

[skylee]

when would you call it 这起火灾？

Personally I don't use this measure word. It sounds a bit old fashioned (even to me).

[randall_flagg]

Thanks, Skylee! I'll try and use it only when I want to appear old fashioned, then.

[wix]

The Big Picture has a feature on the Lantern Festival. Scroll down near the end for photos of the fire.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/chinas_lantern_festival_and_an.html

[liuzhou]

No surprise, but 12 people are reported to have been arrested in connection with the fire.

BBC News

[Yang Rui]

People are now posting amusing photoshops of the fire:

http://www.chinasmack.com/pictures/cctv-fire-funny-photoshops-by-chinese-netizens/

[roberts187]

This fire looks more severe than the two towers in New York city and they collapsed into dust hmmm makes you wonder.

[randall_flagg]

Well, there was also no HUGE impact into the CCTV building!

[adrianlondon]

Yeah, and there were no aliens involved. Is that the conspiracy theory du jour?

[gougou]

Yeah, and there were no aliens involved.

You did see the link that Yang Rui provided? There were all kinds of things involved!