huge fire on Canal Street

[oldtime dfl_er]

CNN reporting now. Inside Canal Place Mall. What is causing these fires? Sorry to be a dufus but is it people trying to stay warm? Or some kind of infrastructure collapse? Any city engineers out there who would know the answer?

http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/801334

[11cents]

1. Gas leaks, probably (n/t)

[SouthernDem2004]

2. Caused by chemical spills, shorting out of electrical devices that

are battery powered and many othe causes including arson.

No need to keep warm. It is hot as hell down here.

[tk2kewl]

3. bush operatives

so they can say that blacks are animals to scare lilly white middle america

[Hubert Flottz]

6. You may be right!

[tk2kewl]

8. every time i think the worst of these bastards they do something

that shatters even my most dismal expectations

[Roland99]

4. Fires burn along river; thousands wait to leave

Fires burn along river; thousands wait to leave
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.impact/index.html


And, see my posts #34 and #83 in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4598834&mesg_id=4598834


I knew it.

[liberal43110]

5. gas leaks

[SheilaT]

7. Given how warm it's been there

I can't imagine a need to light a fire to stay warm.

There's a possibility of arson, I suppose, but I'd be more inclined to think it's more "accidental", meaning something on the scene is catching fire or combusting or some such. Perhaps there are those on the board who are or have been fire fighters and would know more about such things.

Certainly none of them can be from electrical shorts. (A poor attempt at humor here.:

[skids]

9. Some are just a result of damage, some are set by the criminal element.

Some of the fires are just what happens if you leave a wrecked building full of flammable and explosive chemicals lying around untended to. Even an average household kitchen can easily erupt into flames whether or not there is any electricity.

Others are set by the small number of true criminals that have decided to either try to make a killing, or just to "whoop it up." Burning a building after looting is a good way to get rid of security video, or just to cause chaos.

Fires are going to be the next big story, and they will be bad. As the streets are cleared of the innocent civilians, the somewhat-less-then-innocent ones (and the just plain insane ones that have totally popped a cork) will be left behind guarding their stashes of plasma TVs. Once cornered, they will set more fires to act as a distraction.