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LAPD Fireworks Explosion (2021) followup

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FacEngrPE

FacEngrPE

Mechanical
Feb 9, 2020
1,632
thread815-484866
LA can not seem to get it's act together resolving the aftermath of the fireworks explosion

LAPD fireworks explosion: City tells victims to move out of hotel - Los Angeles Times; Feb 24, 2023

It took public shaming, but victims of LAPD’s fireworks explosion won’t be evicted; 2023-02-25

I seems like the City attempted to forget that the $2,000,000 (so far) hotel bill was the result of the damaged caused by the carelessness of the LAPD explosive disposal team, combined with the City not making an effort to expeditiously arrange to make repairs.
At this point in time this is more a political problem than an engineering problem, bit this is the environment our engineering sometimes needs to live inside of, so it is still part of the story.
 
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I'll bet the truth is in there. Somewhere.

Seems to me the city should have fixed those buildings by now. And the owners of the building should have been able to oversee the work, to assure it was done to their satisfaction. If they objected to the quality, then a judge would be deciding who's right.

Construction should have started within thirty days, and been completed well within a year.


spsalso
 
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The "truth" is that it is often difficult to get a truly fair and impartial adjudication on what was "damage" and what was "pre-existing," in addition to what might be a reasonable estimation of value, both in terms of the actual structure, and all the belongings within the structure.

There are roughly 430 workdays between then and now, and 129 settlements, so one every 3.3 workdays.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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Since the city was clearly negligent, I would have recommend erring on the side of the owner. Thus pre-existing would have been included, except in especially egregious cases. Roof used to leak? Won't any more. Damaged water heater really old and worthless? Don't worry about--you've got a new one now.

I don't see why there's a need to estimate value for the structure. They're not thinking of buying it. Just fix it.

The City screwed up horribly. They have a moral obligation to make it right. Quickly.

I do agree that there is a point where some of the victims could advantage. The moral obligation ends about there.


spsalso
 
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The advantage to making a claim against the government is you know they're good for it. The disadvantage is it may take a loooooong time to collect. And bureaucracy can be an effective hedge against morality. Been that way since before Bleak House.
 
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A $2,000,000 hotel bill and counting would have paid for quite a bit of pre-existing damage.

--------------------
Ohm's law
Not just a good idea;
It's the LAW!
 
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puts an 1800 sf home at around $480k to build from scratch in LA. Assuming a 20% rebuild is $96k, so $2M only covers 21 houses.

There might be up to 50 houses with an average of that level of damage, with progressively less damage as distance increases

as of June of last year, they had only paid out $300k in settlements.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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According to the LA Times, 22 houses, 13 business, and 37 vehicles. That's apparently ANY damage.



The photos I've seen show blown-out windows, exterior cosmetic damage, and some fallen plaster ceilings. For the houses I've seen in the photos, I'd guess $50,000 each would have covered it. Generously. So, admitting that a couple of houses could have been worse, we have 20 houses at $50,000 = $1 million. Haven't a clue about the businesses. The cars: well at least one was totaled. Most likely were broken windows and scratched paint.

While the city has performed pathetically, I don't doubt that some of the "claimants" are not being entirely honest in describing their losses.

The City should have interviewed people and cataloged damage immediately. And then acted on it. Immediately. Their foot-dragging only encourages people's imaginations of losses.


Putting it bluntly, the City should have accepted responsibility within 24 hours, and immediately acted to take care of the damage to the citizens.


spsalso
 
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There are around 400 claims, but the most recent article claims 129 claims already settles, so those numbers don't appear to be valid, since they should already be done if those were correct.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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Of course, it might be that most of the 400 claims are not "valid". I know it's hard to imagine, but.....


spsalso
 
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