# German Architect gets One Year for death of fire fighter



## mark handler

y Paresh DaveJanuary 3, 2014,*11:09 a.m.A German architect accused of recklessly installing a fireplace in his Hollywood Hills mansion, leading to a firefighter’s death in February 2011, is expected to serve about six months in jail after pleading no contest Friday to involuntary manslaughter.Gerhard Becker, 49, was sentenced to one year in jail as a condition of his probation, but will probably spend only about half of that behind bars due to time already served and other factors.*Prosecutors had sought four years in jail."The problem with probation in this case is that it sends a message you can blame somebody else and escape," Deputy Dist. Atty. Sean Carney said outside the courtroom.Prosecutors allege Becker told a city building inspector that he didn’t plan to build any fireplaces in his three-story, 12,000-square-foot hillside house. But authorities say he did so anyway after the final inspection in November 2010.Days after Becker was permitted to move in, a fire awoke him and his girlfriend at night. Authorities determined after the fire that Becker had built long fire pits meant for outdoor use into his home.Firefighter Glenn Allen died fighting the blaze.Relatives Allen and nearly 200 other people had sent letters to Los Angeles County Superior Judge Robert Perry*urging him to order the maximum sentence.“We want to send a message, 'Build stuff right and don’t cut corners,'" said Frank Lima, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City union.Becker was*accused of gross negligence for building the frame of the fireplaces with combustible materials, instead of materials such as brick, and for not building any firebreaks inside the walls.The fire had rocketed up to the attic. The ceiling eventually collapsed, crushing three firefighters, including Allen, who later died at a hospital due to lack of oxygen to his brain while he was pinned down.At Friday's hearing, the judge struggled with deciding how much responsibility to place on Becker's shoulders after he said in court that city inspectors should have done a better job of following up on the house.Becker later the sold the house for $7.55 million and used proceeds from the sale to post $2 million bail. But he surrendered to authorities nearly three weeks ago in anticipation of the sentencing.Becker*also expects to be deported to Europe upon being released because he's in the U.S. on an expired visa, his attorney said in court.http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-german-architect-sentenced-20140103,0,4315131.story#ixzz2pNpRDSmw


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## MASSDRIVER

What a dick.

Special place in hell and all that. And I don't even believe in hell.

Guess it's not just the hillbillies that pull bonkers like that.

Of all people he should have known better.

Brent.


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## mark handler

Judge placed a large amount of the blame on the building and safety inspector s for not inspecting the renovation properly


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## ICE

The architect didn't kill the fireman, the fire did.


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## mark handler

ICE said:
			
		

> The architect didn't kill the fireman, the fire did.


The architect intentionally violated the building and fire codes . thus causing the fire.  The person who violates the code/law is by our laws/statutes is responsible.

It's like saying the drunk driver did not kill the child the crash did.

The architect chose to violate the codes.


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## mark handler

LA TIMES

The manslaughter case against architect Gerhard Becker was novel from the start.Los Angeles prosecutors charged that Becker built a Hollywood Hills West mansion with such disregard for public safety and building codes that he should be held criminally liable for the death of a Los Angeles firefighter who was crushed by a thousand pounds of ceiling while battling a blaze there in 2011.Becker, 49, was set to go on trial for involuntary manslaughter and faced up to four years in jail. But on Friday, the case came to an abrupt end with a judge agreeing to a deal that will keep the architect in jail for a total of only six months in exchange for a no-contest plea.Prosecutors, the victim’s family and firefighters opposed the resolution, saying Becker deserved more punishment. About 15 uniformed firefighters attended the court hearing Friday to lend their support. More than 400 firefighters submitted letters to the court.In offering the deal, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry questioned the strength of the prosecution’s case. He suggested that a Los Angeles building and safety inspector who reviewed Becker’s home may share some of the blame.The inspector, Brad Bescos, signed off on the house three months before the fire, according to court records. During an interview with investigators and then in his testimony at a preliminary hearing in 2012, Bescos offered conflicting accounts about whether he saw some of the building code violations or whether Becker might have hidden them during an inspection. The confusion damaged the inspector’s credibility in the eyes of the judge.“There are serious issues of proof for responsibility of the loss of life,” Perry said.Deputy Dist. Atty. Sean Carney, who had offered Becker a plea deal of two years in jail, criticized the judge’s offer Friday, saying it missed an opportunity to send a stronger message to architects who might be considering skirting the rules.“It is a sentence that undermines any deterrent effect — that says they can blame it on city bureaucracy’s negligence,” Carney said outside the courtroom, flanked by firefighters.“I don’t think six months in jail is worth what all these guys went through,” retired firefighter Kevin Mulvehill tearfully told reporters. “Everyone who responded has a life sentence.”After11years of designing massive villas on a Spanish island, Becker had set his sights on a new challenge: a lot on Viewsite Terrace straddling a hillside a mile up from West Hollywood’s ritzy Sunset Plaza.He bought the land for $905,000 in 2009, then began designing and overseeing the $4-million construction of what was to be his 12,000-square-foot home. The German national was not licensed by the California Architects Board.The living room, kitchen, garage and deck would sit at street level and two other floors would drop behind the cliff, offering unfettered views of the Los Angeles Basin.An infinity pool, floor-to-ceiling windows, a maid’s room, nine bathrooms and six bedrooms were built on the palm-tree-lined property. The producers of a German reality TV show hosted by Heidi Klum paid $100,000 to use the home for two months.Disregarding the manufacturer’s safety warnings in favor of aesthetics, Becker placed a long, natural-gas fire trough into a recessed wall of the mansion’s living room, prosecutors alleged.The pebble-filled fire pit came with a notice that it could lead to loss of life if installed anywhere but outdoors. It sat along an alcove that was 15 feet long, 18 inches high and 18 inches above the floor. Flames rose just two inches shy of the top. It had been turned on the night of the fire, but authorities couldn’t determine if it had been turned off before the ignition box below led to the larger blaze.Becker surrounded the fireplace — and three others in the house like it — with wood and drywall instead of non-flammable materials. Each unit with installation cost $6,000, according to court files. If done properly, authorities said, the price would have been 10 times more.“No reasonable person would build a fireplace out of wood, because what happens is the obvious result, the wood catches fire,” Carney said.A vent that should have been angled upward was flat and just 4 inches wide, prosecutors said. And without any fire-stop materials inside the walls to impede the flames, the fire surged to the attic.The ceiling collapsed about 45 minutes after the 911 call. A firefighter said in court he had never seen anything like it. If built to code, the attic should have been free of flames for at least the first hour, authorities said.“What we rely on as a community is the good faith of the persons who are actually responsible for the construction,” Carney said during a preliminary hearing. “What he [becker] put forward was contempt and arrogance for any safety standards he didn’t agree with.”Glenn Allen, a 61-year-old with nearly 37 years of service in the Los Angeles Fire Department, died two days after being pulled from the rubble. He missed the birth of his first grandchild by a day. His wife, Melanie, said Friday that her daughter’s two sons have missed out on learning how to use Allen’s fire tools.“My life has been ripped to shreds,” she said.Carney told the court that Becker would lug around the building code book, nit-picking with contractors, inspectors and even their bosses to ensure every detail worked out his way. He pulled out fire sprinklers, a pool alarm and staircase railings after inspections, prosecutors alleged.“The defendant flagrantly didn’t care as long as he got his way, whether or not building and safety approved it, because that was the way he was apparently used to in Europe,” Carney said Friday as he tried to persuade the judge to offer a harsher sentence. He told the judge that any fault placed on the city inspector should not detract from Becker’s callous code violations.Becker’s attorney, Donald Re, argued that Becker never would have moved in if he had felt unsafe. In a civil lawsuit filed by Melanie Allen, Re said Becker reached a “substantial” settlement to transfer his insurance reimbursement to her family.“There will be no winner in this case, but this will be on his soul forever,” Re said.Judge Perry called the insurance settlement deal a sign of remorse. He speculated that the city inspector shouldn’t have missed Becker’s violations and worried about the possibility of a hung jury if the case went to trial.He previously signaled he would offer a one-year plea deal, and Becker surrendered to authorities the week before Christmas. With time already served and other factors, he’s likely to be released from jail by May. Because his visa has expired, he will be deported to Europe after his release.Becker cried Friday when his attorney talked about how he would finally be able to return to his fiance, daughter and ailing father.Allen was the 61st city firefighter to have died in the line of duty in the department’s125 years.Legal experts said criminal prosecution, let alone conviction, in a case of shoddy design and construction is rare despite the thousands of injuries each year that might be traced to builders cutting corners.“With this plea, there will be greater pressure on prosecutors to charge the architect,” said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor. “Tragedies are often followed by demands for prosecution and those demands are likely to be tied to this case as precedent.”paresh.dave@latimes.com*Times staff writer Andrew Khouri contributed to this report


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## chris kennedy

Holy crap, that's not only negligent it's just plain stupid.


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## mark handler

chris kennedy said:
			
		

> Holy crap, that's not only negligent it's just plain stupid.


Yet he only got a year for involuntary manslaughter, with credit for time served.

He will also be deported, and cannot return to the US


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## ICE

As wrong as the construction was, the fireman died because he or his superiors made a mistake.  That is the case every time a a fireman dies.  It is a high risk occupation and mistakes can be fatal.

The architect built against code.  That was his mistake.

The ceiling didn't collapse as a result of a code violation.  The ceiling collapsed as the result of the fire.

The fireman went into the wrong burning building.  That was the fireman's mistake.  I don't mean to be callus towards the fireman but the risk is well known.

Had the fire been caused by a nail in a wire, would the electrician go to jail?

How about a housewife who's a lousy cook and starts a kitchen fire?  Her negligence caused the fire.  If a fireman falls through the roof would you think that it's her fault or would you agree that the fireman shouldn't have been on that roof?

Add a meth lab and the cook goes to jail for the mistake made by the fireman.

Since it is negligence in most cases: BBQ got out of hand, open can of paint thinner left in the garage, faulty car repair, smoking in bed....well the smoker is DOA so he ain't going to jail.  How are these negligent folks punished by the authorities?



> It's like saying the drunk driver did not kill the child the crash did.


How about a fireman that gets run over while at the scene.  Is the drunk driver culpable in that death?

What about the fireman's wife that was robbed at knife point while walking the family dog?  As it happened, the fireman went home that day but he was late because of the last call of the day...the drunk driver.  Although thankful for the overtime, he missed his chore of walking the dog and Daisy had to pee.  Is the drunk driver the proximate cause of events after the crash?

I remember a case some years ago.  A man stole appliances from a construction site.  Forty miles from the scene of the crime, on his way home, a stove fell from his pickup into traffic on the 91 freeway.  An off duty deputy hit the stove and was killed.  The thief was charged with murder because the incident happened during the commission of a crime.

How much did the deputy's driving ability weigh in that decision?  Was he following too close....daydreaming...after all, he slammed into a stove.

I wonder what the insurance company that paid Becker is thinking now that Becker has been convicted of a crime.  The court has determined that Becker caused the fire as the result of committing a crime.  So if you burn your house down, do you still deserve an insurance payout?



> The pebble-filled fire pit came with a notice that it could lead to loss of life if installed anywhere but outdoors.


Was that because of the products of combustion?

How does the building dept. figure into this?  I haven't heard what was done wrong by the inspector(s).


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## mark handler

ICE said:
			
		

> As wrong as the construction was, the fireman died because he or his superiors made a mistake.  That is the case every time a a fireman dies.  It is a high risk occupation and mistakes can be fatal. The architect built against code.  That was his mistake.
> 
> The ceiling didn't collapse as a result of a code violation.  The ceiling collapsed as the result of the fire.
> 
> The fireman went into the wrong burning building.  That was the fireman's mistake.  I don't mean to be callus towards the fireman but the risk is well known.
> 
> Had the fire been caused by a nail in a wire, would the electrician go to jail?
> 
> How about a housewife who's a lousy cook and starts a kitchen fire?  Her negligence caused the fire.  If a fireman falls through the roof would you think that it's her fault or would you agree that the fireman shouldn't have been on that roof.
> 
> Add a meth lab and the cook goes to jail for the mistake made by the fireman.
> 
> Since it is negligence in most cases: bbq got out of hand, open can of paint thinner left in the garage, faulty car repair, smoking in bed....well the smoker is DOA so he ain't going to jail.  How are these negligent folks punished by the authorities?
> 
> How about a fireman that gets run over while at the scene.  Is the drunk driver culpable in that death?
> 
> What about the fireman's wife that was robbed at knife point while walking the family dog?  As it happened, the fireman went home that day but he was late because of the last call of the day...the drunk driver.  Although thankful for the overtime, he missed his chore of walking the dog and Daisy had to pee.  Is the drunk driver the proximate cause of events after the crash?
> 
> I remember a case some years ago.  A man stole appliances from a construction site.  Forty miles from the scene of the crime, on his way home, a stove fell from his pickup into traffic on the 91 freeway.  An off duty deputy hit the stove and was killed.  The thief was charged with murder because the incident happened during the commission of a crime.
> 
> How much did the deputy's driving ability weigh in that decision?  Was he following too close....daydreaming...after all, he slammed into a stove.
> 
> I wonder what the insurance company that paid Becker is thinking now that Becker has been convicted of a crime.  The court has determined that Becker caused the fire as the result of committing a crime.  So if you burn your house down, do you still deserve an insurance payout?


You can make excuses, for negligence and deliberately violating the code and laws.

As You can  blame any victim of a crime. The store owner should not have built his store there. The child should not have been in His/Her parents car. A rape victim should not have been at the bar.......

It does not absolve the person of the homicide

I guess we will need to blame the building inspectors when they fall through the roof when the contractor failed to replace the rotten sheathing... it was the inspectors fault... the building inspectors should have known the contractor covered the rotten sheathing.

And just so you know, the collapse was because of water build up in the joist bays. the water was from the sprinkler system, held in place by the visqueen vapor barrier....


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## conarb

But the building inspectors go completely unpunished.


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## ICE

mark handler said:
			
		

> You can make excuses, for negligence and deliberately violating the code and laws.As You can  blame any victim of a crime. The store owner should not have built his store there. The child should not have been in His/Her parents car. A rape victim should not have been at the bar.......
> 
> It does not absolve the person of the homicide


I am not making excuses.  I am not advocating one way or another.  I am pointing out facts.  Your statements take the premise to the extreme.


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## ICE

conarb said:
			
		

> But the building inspectors go completely unpunished.


Tell us what they did wrong.


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## mark handler

conarb said:
			
		

> But the building inspectors go completely unpunished.


According to TV news reports, The fireplaces were added after the Building was finaled by the Building Department, This was from the fire department spokesman....

The judge said the  Building department , should have known.....


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## Msradell

ICE said:
			
		

> As wrong as the construction was, the fireman died because he or his superiors made a mistake.  That is the case every time a a fireman dies.  It is a high risk occupation and mistakes can be fatal. The architect built against code.  That was his mistake.
> 
> The ceiling didn't collapse as a result of a code violation.  The ceiling collapsed as the result of the fire.
> 
> The fireman went into the wrong burning building.  That was the fireman's mistake.  I don't mean to be callus towards the fireman but the risk is well known.
> 
> Had the fire been caused by a nail in a wire, would the electrician go to jail?
> 
> *Yes, we would if the wearing wasn't installed to code or if he didn't install the proper protection for the wiring.*
> 
> How about a housewife who's a lousy cook and starts a kitchen fire?  Her negligence caused the fire.  If a fireman falls through the roof would you think that it's her fault or would you agree that the fireman shouldn't have been on that roof.
> 
> *No, being a lousy cook is not against code.*
> 
> Add a meth lab and the cook goes to jail for the mistake made by the fireman.
> 
> _*As the cook should because the fire in this case was caused by something illegal.*_
> 
> Since it is negligence in most cases: bbq got out of hand, open can of paint thinner left in the garage, faulty car repair, smoking in bed....well the smoker is DOA so he ain't going to jail.  How are these negligent folks punished by the authorities?
> 
> How about a fireman that gets run over while at the scene.  Is the drunk driver culpable in that death?
> 
> *Yes, because he was driving drunk same thing would have happened if he had hit a pedestrian or another driver.*
> 
> What about the fireman's wife that was robbed at knife point while walking the family dog?  As it happened, the fireman went home that day but he was late because of the last call of the day...the drunk driver.  Although thankful for the overtime, he missed his chore of walking the dog and Daisy had to pee.  Is the drunk driver the proximate cause of events after the crash?
> 
> I remember a case some years ago.  A man stole appliances from a construction site.  Forty miles from the scene of the crime, on his way home, a stove fell from his pickup into traffic on the 91 freeway.  An off duty deputy hit the stove and was killed.  The thief was charged with murder because the incident happened during the commission of a crime.
> 
> How much did the deputy's driving ability weigh in that decision?  Was he following too close....daydreaming...after all, he slammed into a stove.
> 
> I wonder what the insurance company that paid Becker is thinking now that Becker has been convicted of a crime.  The court has determined that Becker caused the fire as the result of committing a crime.  So if you burn your house down, do you still deserve an insurance payout?


He obviously shouldn't and probably won't get the insurance payment.  If you intentionally burned down a building through arson you don't get the insurance payment either.

I provided answers to some of your totally off-the-wall questions earlier in your post.  If you committed a crime or violated a code and as a result of that a firefighter or anyone else dies you can and will be held responsible!  It's that simple.  There have even been cases where command officers in the fire service has been held liable because their actions were not assisted with standard procedures and caused the death of other firefighters.  In the cases you cited firefighters were following normal procedures and were killed because of extenuating circumstances caused by code or criminal violations.


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## ICE

Msradell said:
			
		

> He obviously shouldn't and *probably won't get* the insurance payment.  If you intentionally burned down a building through arson you don't get the insurance payment either.I provided answers to some of your totally off-the-wall questions earlier in your post.  If you committed a crime or violated a code and as a result of that a firefighter or anyone else dies you can and will be held responsible!  It's that simple.  There have even been cases where command officers in the fire service has been held liable because their actions were not assisted with standard procedures and caused the death of other firefighters.  In the cases you cited firefighters were *following normal procedures* and were killed because of extenuating circumstances caused by code or criminal violations.


He already got the insurance money.

Normal procedures let them down.

So Ma'am, what did you think about Daisy?


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## mark handler

My guess based on doing a lot of buisness with LA City Building Department, they are very through

one of several scenarios, LA City Building Department do check the model numbers, and at the time of inspection:

1) the architect may have said they were not going to install it at this time and will get a permit later

OR

2) the architect may have installed the unit that was on the plans and changed it out after final


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## conarb

Msradell said:
			
		

> He obviously shouldn't and probably won't get the insurance payment.  If  you intentionally burned down a building through arson you don't get  the insurance payment either.


A homeowners' policy not only covers fire damages but all kinds of other liability, in fact a few years ago I considered not renewing my homeowners' insurance but couldn't live without the other personal liability coverage.  Becker's insurance probably paid for his negligence in installing the fire feature.



			
				Mark said:
			
		

> Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry questioned the  strength of the prosecution’s case. He suggested that a Los Angeles  building and safety inspector who reviewed Becker’s home may share some  of the blame.


The judge wasn't completely convinced that the building department wasn't at partially to blame, that's why the settlement was made to avoid a long expensive prosecution attempting to apportion liability.  As opposed to most other states California has "Comparative Liability", so even a 1% tortfeasor may end up paying the bulk of the damages.  An old friend actually made published case law on this issue.  He and his girlfriend were drinking in a bar in the gold country, he was quite drunk, she was somewhat less drunk, she drove him home in her car, she went through a road barricade on a curve on a winding road and he was severely injured with millions of dollars in medical damages, the jury found she was something like 92% at fault for being drunk and the county was 8% at fault in it's maintenance of the barricade, her insurance was the minimum $25,000, under comparative liability her insurance paid the maximum $25,000 without argument, the remaining millions in damages were paid by the County's insurance company under comparative liability.

In Becker's case, if the damaged litigants were able to prove any liability on the part of the building department, then the litigants would get a shot at any awarded damages in excess of Becker's insurance and personal assets.  Sovereign immunity is breaking down as it should.


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## ICE

mark handler said:
			
		

> And just so you know, the collapse was because of water build up in the joist bays. the water was from the sprinkler system, held in place by the visqueen vapor barrier....


Around here, the fire dept. inspects sprinklers not the building dept.


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## mark handler

ICE said:
			
		

> Around here, the fire dept. inspects sprinklers not the building dept.


The fire department spokesperson was supporting, not slamming the Building department.


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## ICE

mark handler said:
			
		

> The judge said the  Building department , should have known.....


That's sorta like what I do when I dial a wrong number.  When the person says that I dialed the wrong number I say, "No, you picked up the wrong phone".


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## mark handler

ICE said:
			
		

> That's sorta like what I do when I dial a wrong number.  When the person says that I dialed the wrong number I say, "No, you picked up the wrong phone".


I think you need a nap


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## conarb

I edited my post above adding an explanation of California's Comparative Liability which explains why the DA didn't pursue the case further against Becker, I'm reposting it here since some would not have seen it.



			
				Mark said:
			
		

> Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry  questioned the  strength of the prosecution’s case. He suggested that a  Los Angeles  building and safety inspector who reviewed Becker’s home  may share some  of the blame.


The judge wasn't completely convinced that the building department  wasn't at least partially to blame, that's why the settlement was made to  avoid a long expensive prosecution attempting to apportion liability.   As opposed to most other states California has "Comparative Liability",  so even a 1% tortfeasor may end up paying the bulk of the damages.  An  old friend actually made published case law on this issue.  He and his  girlfriend were drinking in a bar in the gold country, he was quite  drunk, she was somewhat less drunk, she drove him home in her car, she  went through a road barricade on a curve on a winding road and he was  severely injured with millions of dollars in medical damages, the jury  found she was something like 92% at fault for being drunk and the county  was 8% at fault in it's maintenance of the barricade, her insurance was  the minimum $25,000, under comparative liability her insurance paid the  maximum $25,000 without argument, the remaining millions in damages  were paid by the County's insurance company under comparative liability.

In Becker's case, if the damaged litigants were able to prove any  liability on the part of the building department, then the litigants  would get a shot at any awarded damages in excess of Becker's insurance  and personal assets.  Sovereign immunity is breaking down as it should, and getting to the deep pockets is the name of the game in law.

California went to comparative liability in the early 70s, as I recall there are only a couple of other states that have adopted it.


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## mark handler

Insurance companies normally are not responsible when the homeowner is knowing negligent.

He knew the fireplaces we not approved for interior use.

He may not get any money, and if he does, his lawyer will probably get it....


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## conarb

Mark said:
			
		

> Insurance companies normally are not responsible when the homeowner is knowing negligent.


Insurance is for liability caused by negligence, "knowing" is not involved, this is tort law the difference is "intentional" as opposed to "unintentional".  If I knowingly drive 100 MPH down the street and unintentionally kill someone my insurance will pay a judgment against me, but if I drive 100 MPH to intentionally kill someone and do kill him they will not pay.  Becker's insurance apparently has paid because he didn't intentionally violate the code to burn his house down, he violated the code apparently to save money (or get the architectural effect he wanted), the burning and death were unintentional on his part.


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## mark handler

Time and time again Insurance companies have NOT paid for illegal additions and modifications to houses . Should a fire or flood occur in an area of unpermitted work and the insurer figures that out, it probably will not pay. I actually have that clause in my homeowners policy.


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## jar546

German Architect gets One Year for death of fire fighter

I've done work for some insurance companies just for that reason to research requirements in order to deny a claim.  They are getting smarter about this because it's worth it for them to pay me

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ICE

mark handler said:
			
		

> And just so you know, the collapse was because of water build up in the joist bays. the water was from the sprinkler system, held in place by the visqueen vapor barrier....


Now that I know....it seems odd that the focus is on the fire pit....and how did such thing as smothered sprinkler heads get approved?  How was the ceiling constructed that the finish material didn't let go before the structure failed?  The house is 12,000 sq. ft.....were all of the heads similarly compromised?

If in fact that is what happened, the jurisdiction is starting out in a hole.  If one approaches this rationally, the architect must be fourth or more in line as to responsibility for a sprinkler system.


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## mark handler

ICE said:
			
		

> Now that I know....it seems odd that the focus is on the fire pit....and how did such thing as smothered sprinkler heads get approved?  How was the ceiling constructed that the finish material didn't let go before the structure failed?  The house is 12,000 sq. ft.....were all of the heads similarly compromised? If in fact that is what happened, the jurisdiction is starting out in a hole.  If one approaches this rationally, the architect must be fourth or more in line as to responsibility for a sprinkler system.


Based on the report I read, the fire was caused by the illegal fireplace, it burned through the plastic sprinkler pipe, which intern, filled the joist bays, the fire fighters were inside the building then the joists failed.

But like I said before, it is no different than a drunk diver....


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## ICE

Alright Mark, I concede.  Not only didn't I know most of the details, I set out to be contrary.

Becker sold the property for a 2.5 million dollar profit.  Strip him of what's left and make him walk back to Germany.


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## conarb

Mark said:
			
		

> But like I said before, it is no different than a drunk diver....


And drunk drivers damages are covered all the time by their insurance policies.

Let's not loose sight of the real problem here, the plastic sprinkler pipes melting flooding the ceiling structure causing the collapse causing the death.  Absent the plastic pipes it would have been an ordinary fire, the ceiling wouldn't have collapsed from the weight of the water and the fireman wouldn't have been killed.  At law this is a "Concurrent Cause" issue:



			
				\ said:
			
		

> *Concurrent causes*. Where two separate acts of negligence combine to cause an injury to a third party, each actor is liable. For example, a construction worker negligently leaves the cover off a manhole, and a careless driver negligently clips a pedestrian,  forcing the pedestrian to fall into the open manhole. Both the  construction worker and the careless driver are equally liable for the  injury to the pedestrian. This example obeys the *but for test*. The injury could have been avoided by the elimination of either act of negligence, thus each is a *but for* cause of the injury.²


Absent the plastic pipe melting there would have been no ceiling collapse, absent the fire there would have been no plastic melting.



			
				Contra Costa Times said:
			
		

> The fire began in the  top-floor fireplace shortly after a certificate of occupancy had been  issued, investigators said. As the fire raged through the  12,000-square-foot house, a plastic sprinkler pipe melted, filling the  false ceiling made of drywall and wood with water and causing it to  collapse and crush the veteran firefighter as he was fighting the  flames. Chain saws had to be used to free him from the debris.¹


This reminds me of the case of the home in the Seattle area where plastic sprinkler lines were run to the back of the home and a sprinkler head was placed over a barbecue, there was a fire in the barbecue and water never got to the head in the back because the plastic pipe melted over the entry flooding the home.  Why isn't this a wake up call to require all sprinkler lines to be black iron pipe like they used to be before the plastic/chemical industry's money bought approvals?

Of course we don't know the whole story, we only know what we read, but I don't see evidence that the fireplaces were installed after final inspection, I do see evidence that Becker did give orders to reinstall the same fireplaces when he rebuilt the home for sale.



			
				Contra Costa Times said:
			
		

> Carney noted that when the  house was being reconstructed, Becker gave orders for the same  fireplaces to be installed after the building inspection was completed. ¹


For all we know Becker may have tried to reinstall them meeting all codes, other than the manufacturer's installation instructions to  only install them outdoors, including black iron sprinkler pipe during the reconstruction.  From a legal standpoint the proximate cause of death was the collapse of the ceiling, not the fire.

¹ http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_24842766/architect-pleads-no-contest-la-fireman-death?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_cause


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## cda

ICE said:
			
		

> Now that I know....it seems odd that the focus is on the fire pit....and how did such thing as smothered sprinkler heads get approved?  How was the ceiling constructed that the finish material didn't let go before the structure failed?  The house is 12,000 sq. ft.....were all of the heads similarly compromised? If in fact that is what happened, the jurisdiction is starting out in a hole.  If one approaches this rationally, the architect must be fourth or more in line as to responsibility for a sprinkler system.


"""Now that I know....it seems odd that the focus is on the fire pit....and how did such thing as smothered sprinkler heads get approved""""

Where do the smothered heads come from??

What is a smothered head ??


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## ICE

cda said:
			
		

> What is a smothered head ??


Oh I'm not at all sure that I can answer that.


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## cda

ICE said:
			
		

> Oh I'm not at all sure that I can answer that.


I briefed the thread , but did not see " smothered" mentioned

Where did I miss it ?


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## Frank

If I remember correctly the inspectors ordered the fireplaces removed they were then reinstalled after final inspections were approved.

Prosecutors allege Becker told a city building inspector that he didn’t plan to build any fireplaces in his three-story, 12,000-square-foot hillside house. But authorities say he did so anyway after the final inspection in November 2010.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-german-architect-sentenced-20140103,0,4315131.story#ixzz2pd9OVSSd


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## 97catintenn

ICE said:
			
		

> Becker sold the property for a 2.5 million dollar profit.  Strip him of what's left and make him walk back to Germany.


I don't understand how believable the whole story is now.  We have a guy that built a house and received his final and COA.  Moves in and installs an _outdoor_ fireplace inside of his home.  Fireplace catches fire, ceiling calapses and kills a fireman.

House is sold for a 2.5 million dollar profit.

Make sense?


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## ICE

I don't think any of us knows the whole story.


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## conarb

ICE said:
			
		

> I don't think any of us knows the whole story.


And we are not going to know since the DA and the Building Department are both divisions of the same County and they don't want to expose the County to liability if the whole story was told in court.


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## MASSDRIVER

An interesting lesson can be learned from this. Tangentially.

At some point it was decided residential sprinklers were a good thing. Then at some point it was lobbied to have them mandated. Somewhere along the time line it was discovered to be cost prohibitive to install the robust reliable system of iron pipe and sprinklers, and utilize the skilled labor required  for installation. For the sprinkler industry to keep it viable the system had to be cheapened and the labor to install it had to be downgraded. The end result is the mere shadow of the system we know as sprinklers. What we are left with is a glorified landscaping irrigation system installed by the skill level to match.

The solar industry is on a parallel course to match; Only decreased quality product coupled with low-priced labor (and insane government subsidies) keep this public darling sailing along.

Is it SO important to have mandated crap product when it obviously is not the robust reliable system "sold" at the onset?

Brent


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## mtlogcabin

I just wonder if this had been an 1,800 sq ft house and a homeowner without an architects degree did the same thing and a fire resulted in a death if the charges would be the same.

Just because the guy is an "Architect" does not mean he is knowledgeable about building and fire codes. How much code training does an architect get during their 4 years of college or even during their AIT time? I bet there is no minimum requirement.


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## mark handler

mtlogcabin said:
			
		

> I just wonder if this had been an 1,800 sq ft house and a homeowner without an architects degree did the same thing and a fire resulted in a death if the charges would be the same.Just because the guy is an "Architect" does not mean he is knowledgeable about building and fire codes. How much code training does an architect get during their 4 years of college or even during their AIT time? I bet there is no minimum requirement.


Not licensed, in state....He is only licensed in Germany

Another Unlicensed individual, endangering others lives


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## mtlogcabin

I don't care if he is licensed or not from anywhere. He has an education and a degree in architecture and that is what all the news articles focused on. My questions was would he have been treated differently if he did not have an education and degree in architecture.

A license by a government is usually little more than a tax or administrative fee to regulate an individual.


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## conarb

There is also the issue that may, or may not come into play, as to whether the sprinkler lines were installed by a licensed certified C16 contractor.  In California all sprinkler systems not only must be installed by licensed C16 contractors but all employees must be state certified, it's a 5 year apprenticeship program and quite extensive.



			
				Cal Apprenticeship said:
			
		

> *Program*  The Apprenticeship program is a five (5) year program. Apprentices must  work a total of 8000 hours in five (5) years to reach journeylevel  status. Apprentices are required to attend related instruction classes a  minimum of 144 hours per year at the J.A.C. Training.¹





			
				CSLB said:
			
		

> *Mandatory Residential Fire Sprinklers* Beginning January 1, 2011, an automatic fire sprinkler system will be  mandatory in all new one and two-family dwellings throughout the state.   In line with the 2009 International Building, Fire and Residential  Code, this change comes from modifications to the California Building  Code through the State Building Standards Commission.  "A" General  Engineering, "B" General Building, C-36 Plumbing contractors need to be  aware that only the C-16 Fire Protection classification is legally  permitted to lay out, fabricate or install fire protection systems.   Other trades can provide work up to the fire protection system only,  regardless of whether the fire protection system is combined or  stand-alone.²


This is going nationwide, from Washington State:



			
				Washington said:
			
		

> In Washington State, any person  performing installation, alteration,  and or repairing a fire protection  sprinkler system, standpipe, hose,  or an assembly of sprinkler piping, or any such system must be certified  as competent by the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office.³


A question we don't know is whether the plans called for the fire pit devices and if so if the sprinkler lines were routed around the flues and approved by the fire marshal, I recall once building a cafeteria addition to an Oakland school, the black iron pipe wasn't routed around the the cooking range, the fire marshal made them rip it put and re-rout the piping, and that was black iron pipe and not plastic pipe.  As the judge said there were lots or problems here and I suspect the DA wanted a quick and easy deal with Becker taking all liability rather than dumping comparative liability on a variety of County agencies.

¹ http://www.calapprenticeship.org/programs/sprinkler_apprenticeship.php

² http://www.cslb.ca.gov/GeneralInformation/Newsroom/IndustryBulletins/IndustryBulletins2010/IndustryBulletin20101231.asp

³ http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/sprinkler_fit.htm


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## sergoodo

Thoughts:

-Life safety of occupants- did all occupants survive...

-definition of fireplace - permit actually needed...

-alternative use of manufactured products - can be a crime...

Tragic loss of life, sad, shows how hard to blame stupid.


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## conarb

Sergoodo said:
			
		

> Tragic loss of life, sad, shows how hard to blame stupid.


I think one of the "stupids" here is the code allowing plastic pipe.


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