LAST NIGHT’S ROOFTOP SMOKE SHOW AT THE SUSANNE APARTMENTS 
Update, 2 p.m.: A spokesperson for The Susanne’s owner, the Finger Companies, tells Swamplot that the fire was caused by a “flying sky lantern,” not by faulty piping. According to the spokesperson, 2 Susanne residents launched the decorative airborne device from the complex’s parking garage, but “the wind unexpectedly caused the lantern to land on the roof of the apartment building along the West Alabama driveway and burned long enough to cause a fire on the roof itself.” The 2 residents called 911 and later reported its cause to fire department arson investigators.
A loose rooftop gas pipe sparked this scene at The Susanne Apartments on the corner of W. Alabama and Dunlavy last night at around 9 p.m. Firefighters choked off the blaze by shutting off a valve that fed the pipe — reports the Chronicle — but not before smoke damaged portions of the 8-story building’s top floor. One apartment sustained some water damage, too, but thanks to a layer of steel on the roof — none of the flames made it inside. No firefighters were harmed — and though hundreds evacuated, all residents remained uninjured as well. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplox inbox
Sign up for the Newsletter
I hate to laugh at someone’s loss, but I laughed nonetheless. WFT? I hope the person/s got what they wished for. Sky lanterns in a city neighborhood? Aren’t those usually set off by a lake, or open field?
Why do we believe a statement from a representative of the Finger Companies, and not the HFD Fire Chief? One sky lantern burned long enough to set the roof on fire, but the roof was steel and didn’t burn?
I believe that there was a sky lantern that could have sparked the fire, but having some past experience with Finger Company properties, I also believe there was some sort of faulty gas piping up there that caused the fire to catch and spread.
Also, there was serious water damage well beyond a single unit. Also, the apartment management basically told residents not to worry about smoke damage.
from chron.com: “The Houston Fire Department confirmed that the fire, which was ruled accidental, was caused by a lantern…’They’re not in trouble – it was a complete accident,’ he said. ‘We’re just really happy nobody got hurt.'”
https://www.chron.com/houston/article/Fire-reported-in-Montrose-luxury-apartment-complex-13077514.php
this building has been riddled with problems since it opened.
’They’re not in trouble – it was a complete accident,’
WHAT ? —No one is in trouble? How stupid does one have to be send off a sky lantern within any city?
ACCIDENT? – Accidents are caused by people doing stupid things. They just don’t happen by themselves.
I cannot believe that the Fire Dept. is OK with this. At the very least the dumbass who sent off the sky lantern should be responsible for all of the costs.
INSURANCE – Yeah, they will pay. But the rest of the premium payers cover the cost and the dumbass gets off.
The insurance company will pay…and then sue these idiots who caused this. Subrogation.
Oh jeezus, I was looking for the article about the metal strips falling off of this building and this is what I find instead