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I-85 collapse: Three arrested after major fire under Atlanta highway

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LonestarDream:

Atlanta (CNN)A man has been arrested on suspicion of intentionally setting a huge fire that brought down part of an elevated interstate highway in Atlanta, a collapse that is expected to complicate traffic for months in one of the nation's most congested cities.
Basil Eleby and two other people -- all believed by investigators to be homeless -- have been arrested in connection with Thursday evening's fire under Interstate 85, Jay Florence, deputy insurance and safety fire commissioner, said Friday.

The fire, which started in a state-owned storage lot under the highway, caused part of northbound I-85 to collapse Thursday evening -- injuring no one -- and also damaged the southbound portion, forcing the closure of all five lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future.

Eleby has been charged with first-degree criminal damage to property, Florence said. The two others -- Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas -- have been charged with criminal trespassing. Investigators believe Eleby started the fire intentionally, and that Bruner and Thomas were with him, he said.


http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/31/us/atlanta-interstate-85-fire-collapse/index.html

LonestarDream:
@don-o

I know the source is suspect here, but you were asking about the story.

These folks were 'homeless' .  Really?

Hoodat:

--- Quote from: LonestarDream on April 01, 2017, 04:20:44 pm ---These folks were 'homeless' .  Really?

--- End quote ---

Their home was up under that bridge.  There's a spot right under I-85 at the Monroe Dr exit (Armour Dr) off the access road where quite a few 'homeless' people call home.  I haven't been down in that area in a while, but the area cordoned off by the state could include that section of bridge underpass.

Back when I drove a truck, I saw a guy standing at the light with a sign that said he would work for food.  I rolled down my window and offered him my lunch, but he was only interested in cash.

don-o:
Yeah. Well that made arrests, but I still want to know how exactly they got enough heat to get that fire going.

It's not smelling right to me.

don-o:
http://www.11alive.com/news/what-was-burning-under-the-i-85-overpass/427257767

pecifically, he said, high-density plastic conduit, which was non-combustible, was stored under the bridge. The conduit is used in the traffic management cabling, "fiber optic and wire network," McMurry said of the construction product that is commonly used "for all types of purposes."

McMurry identified the specific conduit as HDPE.

"It is a high-density plastic pipe," he said.

According to Ceresana, an international marketing and consultancy company for the industrial sector, HDPE is used for packaging materials, bottles, household goods and construction products. Several plastics companies list "flammable" as one of the "disadvantages" of using HDPE.

McMurry admits that the material was flammable, but said it wasn't dangerous enough to move.

“It doesn’t not ignite," McMurry said. "It takes something to cause something like that to burn.”

Dr. Lauren Stewart, an engineering professor at Georgia Tech, said that it doesn't combust easily, "but if under high temperature environment, it can combust and I believe it burns relatively hot.”

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Reckon these "homeless" had them a bit of white phosphorus handy?

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