[Noisebridge-board] [Fwd: Re: Fire Department Visits Noisebridge (oh, right, and there was a fire).]

Wed Dec 2 18:39:05 UTC 2009

Since we have not done anything to endanger the property or its inhabitants, it would be really good to keep Henry and his father believing that we are responsible tenants.

If Dr. Jesus is into it, it would be good to ask him to contact Henry.

Mitch.

-----------------
> Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 10:18:46 -0800
> From: rachel at xtreme.com
> To: board at lists.noisebridge.net
> Subject: [Noisebridge-board] [Fwd: Re: Fire Department Visits Noisebridge (oh, right, and there was a fire).]
> 
> While prohibiting NB access to the second floor is a reasonable
> decision, I'm pretty sure Henry has the wrong impression about the
> location and the cause of the fire. Since Dr Jesus found the fire, I'd
> like to ask him to tell Henry about it in a bit more detail so he has
> better information. I am pretty sure it wasn't one of us and I'd prefer
> the landlords not think that either if we can help it.
> 
> Any objections to this? Anyone have a different course of action to
> suggest?
> 
> Rachel
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Fire Department Visits Noisebridge (oh, right, and there
> was a fire).
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 23:57:59 -0800
> From: Henry Ho <henryhoproperty at gmail.com>
> To: Shannon Lee <shannon at scatter.com>
> CC: Rachel McConnell <rachel at xtreme.com>, Andy Isaacson
> <adi at hexapodia.org>, Rubin Abdi <rubin at starset.net>, Alex Handy
> <alexhandy at gmail.com>
> 
> Hi Shannon and Noisebridge members,
> 
> I am glad to hear that everyone is safe. This could have turned out much
> worse. Unfortunately, it has also come to my attention that there have
> been ongoing events that have likely led to this near-disaster.
> 
> It appears that the locks securing southern entry into the rear unit of
> the second floor have been pried apart, and apparently have been
> disabled since shortly after Noisebridge's move-in. It also appears that
> there has been ongoing access to the second floor rear unit via the
> story's north-east stairs connecting the 2nd and 3rd stories. My father
> mentioned that someone had asked permission to enter the 2nd floor
> during meeting days to avoid the crowding that occurs on the 3rd floor.
> While my father permitted this, he did not intend for access to occur at
> any other time for any other reason (other than emergencies or with
> prior consent). Unfortunately, perhaps due to the ease of access to the
> 2nd floor due to the combination of the previously mentioned entry
> issues, it seems that there may be such prohibited entries recurring.
> 
> While we agree that it is unlikely a case of arson, we do however
> believe that it was more likely a case of a member of Noisebridge
> entering the 2nd story rear unit for a cigarette. We ruled out that it
> was anyone in the 2nd floor because firstly, they were not there because
> they don't work over the weekends. Their business has been suffering
> over the past few months so it is unlikely that they would have enough
> work to come in on weekends. Secondly, they don't smoke or use incense
> in the building. Over the past decade, an incident like this has never
> occurred.
> 
> Unfortunately, to address the issue and help prevent a situation like
> this from happening again, *we must revoke and prohibit access to the
> 2nd floor by Noisebridge members* and restore the locks to the 2nd floor
> units, monitoring their condition from time to time. We understand that
> Noisebridge is a large group and that some members' actions are out of
> the control of leading members, but we must insist that this policy
> change be announced and enforced to the best of your organization's
> abilities. We are not doing this to punish, but to ensure the safety of
> all tenants of the building. Aside from this incident, you have been
> great tenants.
> 
> We understand that Noisebridge is growing everyday, and as space becomes
> an issue, members may naturally wander and explore other parts of the
> building, perhaps to get away from the crowd to gain some privacy. If
> this continues to be the case, Noisebridge is always welcome to rent the
> 2nd floor unit(s). This way, with more space and occupation of the
> building, members will be less likely to engage in clandestine
> activities away from the central group. If it sounds like a bad sales
> pitch, it probably is :) but please do consider the possibility as it
> appears we all stand to gain from such an arrangement.
> 
> If you have any more questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
> me at any time. You can reach me via email at this address or you can
> contact me directly at 415.420-2189.
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Henry Ho
> 
> 
> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 1:51 PM, Shannon Lee <shannon at scatter.com
> <mailto:shannon at scatter.com>> wrote:
> 
> Hey Henry,
> 
> Just keeping you in the loop.
> 
> --S
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: *Shannon Lee* <shannon at scatter.com <mailto:shannon at scatter.com>>
> Date: Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 9:55 PM
> Subject: Fire Department Visits Noisebridge (oh, right, and there
> was a fire).
> To: NoiseBridge Discuss <noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> <mailto:noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net>>
> 
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> Earlier this evening, just after the knot symposium ended, Dr Jesus
> smelled fire, and wandered around looking for it; after a while, he
> discovered that there was a smoldering piece of cardboard on the
> second floor landing of the south ("banana") staircase. There was
> apparently a match nearby.
> 
> Dr. Jesus brought the smoldering piece of cardboard upstairs and
> doused it in water. There was a lot of smoke and yelling for a few
> minutes, and 911 was called. The fire department instructed us to
> clear the space, which we did, slowly and anarchically.
> 
> The fire department arrived as the last people were leaving the
> space, maybe five minutes after they were called; they investigated,
> and decided that it probably wasn't arson and that the smouldering
> cardboard was probably the extent of the fire. While a couple of
> them checked around downstairs, others stayed and chatted with me
> about the space -- they seemed interested in Noisebridge's function,
> and inquired about how to become members, and about what dues cost.
> 
> They spent about five minutes in the space and then took off.
> 
> The best explanation I've heard offered for what happened so far was
> that maybe the downstairs neighbor was lighting incense; there
> didn't seem to be a cigarette nearby. Nobody answered the door
> downstairs.
> 
> --S
> 
> --
> Shannon Lee
> (503) 539-3700
> 
> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Shannon Lee
> (503) 539-3700
> 
> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Board mailing list
> Board at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/board

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