Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

For this look at commercial HVAC and plumbing prefabrication, we spoke with experts from one of the best in the business, TDIndustries of Dallas, Tex. Since 1946, TDIndustries has provided innovative engineering, construction and facilities services that optimize the performance of world-class mechanical systems which includes healthcare, hotels, schools, sports arenas, mission critical and industrial complexes.

TDIndustries has prefabrication and assembly facilities in its Texas cities, that are unrivaled by firms of equal size: Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Richardson, San Antonio, as well as Phoenix, Ariz.

This leading mechanical systems firm provided the HVAC duct and plumbing piping systems for the Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz arena, and the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium, now in their second and 10th years, respectively. Among TDIndustries most recent projects that integrated state of the art prefabrication assemblies, is the new, 14,000 seat Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, which will host rodeo shows and hockey and NCAA basketball. For the project, TD contributed to 41 miles of plumbing, 10 miles of HVAC work, and 14 miles of air duct in the building.

Among other recent projects, TDIndustries hasbeen commissioned by the Charles Schwab investment firm, for a new campus in Westlake, Texas.The project includes plumbing and mechanical systems installation for approximately one million square feet of office space between two phases of construction.

Dan Weir, senior project manager for the Charles Schwab project, and Ken Luong, project manager at Dickies Arena, provided insight into some of the basics of prefab, as well as advanced methods practiced regularly by TDIndustries.

The ideal prefabrication projects involve any piping or ductwork assembly thats repeatable, such as throughout an office building or hospital, but its a strategy that can be scaled to the project.

Multiple floors or patient rooms that are basically identical are some of the best-case projects, as well as backflow prevention stations, pressure reducing stations, and plumbing batteries for restrooms. And for ductwork, we can prefab basically anything whether its repetitive or not. Thats what we do, Weir said.

TDIndustries has always had some form of a sheet metal prefabrication shop. In 1980, it incorporated larger prefabrication projects, like plumbing batteries and central utility piping. When the company moved to its new Dallas headquarters in 1989, the manufacturing center was expanded, and now occupies 8,000 sq.ft.

Old Shop Keeps Up With Whats NewKen Luong said prefabrication has always been a part of TDIndustries culture, and it has evolved through the years to keep in step with industry best practices.

Weve always looked for additional things to prefabricate, and for ways we can be more efficient and productive; areas where we can build off of it ahead of time in a controlled environment rather than at a hectic jobsite, with many subcontractors working around you, Luong said.

As virtual design becomes more defined, and software becomes smarter, those two innovations continue to help us in the modeling and coordinating ahead of time. As far as In addition to new prefabrication opportunities, there are vendors and manufacturers that come to us with ideas to help us do our jobs easier, Luong continued. Whether its a new type of grooved system or fitting or material, these improvements are ongoing, because everyone wants to get better and find a better, less costly product.

Helpful Design ProgramsAmong the new prefabrication innovations that have impressed Weir is ESTmep , by Autodesk, a relatively new program that is combined with a Building Information Modeling (BIM) model.

Its one model and one database, so that every piece of pipe or duct have attributes recorded within that model, that tell you how much its worth and how much labor is required to install it, Weir explains. Were right on the edge of implementing some really cool technology that enables us to take pieces of a model out and it will spit out exactly how long it should take to install a particular section of pipe or an entire area of ductwork. Weve been working on this to help with tracking and improving both project planning and productivity. And under Autodesk theres a multitude of software we utilize, including Revit in fabrication.

There have been huge advances made in BIM over the past 10 years. We can now publish the model to where project foremen and superintendents in the field can pull up the model on iPad tablets. Thats not necessarily new, but each year, BIM becomes easier to view and use, Luong said.

TDIndustries uses Iris Prospect virtual reality software and HTC Vive viewing devices.

Building Information Modeling allows us to virtually build the job in a 3D model, which greatly improves our capacity for fabrication, said Wesley Baker, vice president of TDIndustries manufacturing and prefabrication facility. The biggest key component is a clash detection component which allows us to see all the different systems fire protection/sprinkler, the large electrical conduit, ductwork, hydronic piping and plumbing systems and the structural systems all in a 3D model. If theyre bumping into each other, the system will show us that. We can then remove those clashes, which makes fabrication much more accurate and efficient.

Plug-n-Play PlumbingLuong added that plumbing batteries are probably the most common assembly that TD teams will prefabricate in the shop.

We have a lot of gang restrooms at Dickies Arena, so every single plumbing battery we created in the shop was shipped and set in place at the Arena.

The Dickies Arenas central plant is one large prefabrication. We had all of the pipe, valve and fittings welded or coupled together in our shop before shipping it to the jobsite.

TDIndustries fabricates and manufactures each and every piece of ductwork, it installs on any project, to the tune of five million pounds each year.

The technology and equipment used to build ductwork assemblies has continued to evolve, and were using much more automated equipment in the shop, including CNC (computer numerical control) computerized manufacturing-driven equipment, Baker said.

We utilize a coil line, to fabricate straight runs of rectangular ductwork. This is an automated line thats computer fed, driven by CNC. The information for the pieces of ductwork that are to be fabricated are fed directly to the machine controller, from our BIM model designs. Its a very automated process. We do the same thing on the plasma tables, where we cut the patterns to make our fittings. We have an automated table to cut the duct liners to match the fittings.

Baker said a new trend called multi-trade fabrication is gaining in popularity. The method involves building a rack framework and installing the ductwork, chilled water piping, cable trays and conduit, all in 20-foot sections. Its the next future trend, he said.

TDIndustries door is always open for visitors withlegitimate interest in advancing their own prefabrication skills. That includes manufacturers and contractors. On the day I spoke with Baker, a team from Arizona was visiting.

We believe supporting prefabrication is the right thing to do. It will help us all with our labor shortage, with safety, and with meeting the demands of the industry. And, we can learn from each other, he stated. A serious prefabrication shop requires a serious investment, one that small or mid-size contracting businesses find impossible to meet. Baker said less-capitalized firms will struggle with the investment thats required for a quality prefab shop.

Then, once you build a facility like this, you must have consistent work. We have a seven-figure inventory right now, and much more invested in equipment. It makes sense for our operational size, but it will cost you if you dont keep the lines running. I would say most companies outsource this until they become large enough. If you dont have a coil line you cant be competitive.

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HVAC, Plumbing Prefabrication at its Best - Contractor

High and low pressure zones drive flow through interior cooling channels. Image: Marcelo Cceres

Heat is the enemy of electronics. The more powerful the processor or component, the more heat is generated. Thats why your laptop likely has a fan, and why massive server farms such as Amazon Web Services or Google need colossal amounts of cooling to keep servers from overheating and shutting down.

Its no different when it comes to airborne Internet connectivity. The antenna system needs to be continuously operating generating heat for passengers to stay connected. It might seem simple to keep an antenna thats mounted on the outside of an aircrafts fuselage, above the cabin, nice and cool. Why not just cut a hole in the cover and let the airflow do the rest?

Not surprisingly, it isnt that simple. The heat of the sun on the radome adds to the thermal load, as does aerodynamic heating, whereby the passing of air at high speeds (in the case of commercial aircraft, 575 miles per hour) is converted to heat. The path for cooling airflow must be free of dirt, ice and moisture, and the outside skin of the fuselage cant be used to dissipate the heat. And its getting more complicated as new power-hungry phased-array, flat-panel antennas begin to appear. Compared to current mechanical, motor-steered dishes, a flat-panel antenna is steered electronically, with different elements of the array receiving and transmitting beams.

The patent-pending part is an isothermal transfer plate that is integrated with the adapter plate to help dissipate heat away from the [antenna] arrays. Kris Samuelson, CIT

While mechanically steered systems might consume a couple of hundred watts of power, electronically steered antennas (ESAs) can use as much as 2,000 watts. Think of a high-powered hair dryer in the antenna enclosure, and its clear that there could be a problem with heat.

Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (Carlisle IT) is working on a solution. Recognizing the opportunity for compact ARINC 781 form-factor ESA installations on regional passenger airliners and corporate aircraft, the company has created an integrated cooling design that is now moving from simulation to a hardware testing phase.

The patent-pending part is an isothermal transfer plate that is integrated with the adapter plate to help dissipate heat away from the [antenna] arrays, said Kris Samuelson, director of sales, IFEC and Interiors, Carlisle IT. Along the length of the adapter plate you have a heat-pipe-like system what we call integrated duct radiator channels. They act like vents, helping to dissipate the heat out the aft end.

Carlisle IT takes advantage of the low height of an ESA, with the complete installation only about three inches above the fuselage, compared to around 13 inches for a mechanically steered system. According to Samuelson, the new scalable solution will support a wide range of aircraft and hardware systems.

Cool Running was originally published in the 9.5 December/January issue ofAPEX Experiencemagazine.

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Cool Running: Carlisle IT's Overheating Solution for Electronically Steered Antennas - APEX Media

When Bears second-year receiver Javon Wims went down with a knee injury in the teams win against the Cowboys on Thursday evening, many feared for the worst as he was down for several minutes before gingerly walking off the field. Wims, however, seems to be in very good spirits and doesnt seem too concerned about the injury based on his Instagram story.

Wims posted a six minute video to his Instagram story on Saturday, talking with a ride share driver about the Bears, while pretending he was just a fan of the team. The two discussed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, the receiving corps, fan burner accounts on social media and more during the drive.

When Wims, still pretending to be a fan, began talking about himself, the driver wondered how his injury looked after seeing him go down on Thursday. Wims decided to speculate on the situation.

Hes not too bad, I think hell be alright, Wims said. It looked like he was OK. Wims also hyped himself up, saying that kid has a bright future, he has all the intangibles while smiling.

When the driver finally discovers who he is, they both share a laugh. The driver then asks how hes doing regarding his knee injury. Yeah, Im good, Wims says with a laugh. The driver then asks if he walked to the car alright, to which Wims replied, Yeah, I just got back. Everything is positive.

The video focused primarily on the former Georgia Bulldog messing with the driver about who he was and offering priceless descriptions of his teammates, but the reveal regarding his knee injury is good news.

This comes a day after NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wims had a slight knee sprain and that it wasnt major. The sprain occurred late in the first half when Trubisky attempted to find Wims in the endzone, but the receiver couldnt make the catch and fell awkwardly with Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith.

With Wims himself saying hes good and that he walked to the car fine, its another positive sign for the receivers recovery. However, its still too early to tell if Wims will miss any games.

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WATCH: Bears WR Javon Wims messes with cab driver, sheds light on injury - Bears Wire

Nearly 1 in 4 voters in Oregon is living with a disability

by: KOIN 6 News Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A number of local candidates running for office in Oregon took part in the Roll for Our Rights event in downtown Portland Saturday.

For the tour, candidates ventured around the city using a wheelchair. The event was guided by disability activists and meant to raise awareness of residents with disabilities.

These guys have no idea what theyre in for, said Amanda Siebe, a candidate for the US House of Representatives who also uses a wheelchair. It is a big challenge, especially with the raintheyre going to learn pretty quick, the challenges that we face. This city is not wheelchair-accessible.

Part of the reform the activists hope to push is the Americans with Disabilities Act laws, which have not been updated since 1994.

Nearly 1 in 4 voters in Oregon is living with a disability.

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Roll for Rights tour sheds light on citys accessibility - KOIN.com

Riyadh (AFP) - Anthony Joshua on Friday weighed in more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) lighter than heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr ahead of their controversial rematch in Saudi Arabia.

The leaner and meaner British boxer seeks to win back the IBF, WBA and WBO titles that he lost to Ruiz in a shock June defeat in New York in a high-profile duel on Saturday, dubbed "Clash on the Dunes".

Joshua weighed in much lighter compared to their June encounter, hitting the scales at 16 stones and 13 pounds (107.5 kg) ahead of the fight, seen as the biggest test of his boxing career.

Ruiz, sporting a Mexican sombrero hat, tipped the scales at 20 stones and three pounds (128.36 kg), heavier than what he weighed in their June encounter in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Joshua weighed in at 247.8 pounds (112.4 kg) in June, but the boxer has shed muscle mass in order to improve his mobility around the ring.

"Before I was trying to bench press a house. I used my body to get where I needed but then I started realising the sweet science of the sport," Joshua said.

"I am punching like a horse kicking backwards right now."

The stakes could not be higher for Joshua, who would face a long road back to the pinnacle of the heavyweight division if he loses Saturday's much-hyped fight.

Victory, by contrast, would re-establish his credentials in the division, opening the door to money-spinning fights against WBC champion Deontay Wilder or fellow Briton Tyson Fury.

Ruiz says he is ready to take on the British challenger despite his increased fitness.

"I know he's lost weight and will try to box me around, but it's just my job to prevent that," Ruiz said earlier this week.

"I'm ready for whatever comes my way."

The rematch will be taking place in a purpose built 15,000-seat arena in Diriyah on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia secured the staging rights to the rematch after reportedly offering an astronomical purse to promoters and fighters.

Joshua's take is reported to be around $60 million while promoters Matchroom Boxing were handed an eye-popping $40 million site fee to award the fight to Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz, who was locked into a rematch at a set figure as a condition of his first meeting with Joshua, is expected to receive $9 million.

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Joshua sheds, Ruiz piles on weight before 'Clash on the Dunes' - Yahoo Sports

Exceptionally preservedskulls of a mammal that lived alongside the dinosaurs may be offeringscientists a glimpse into the evolution of the middle ear.

The separation of the threetiny middle ear bones known popularly as the hammer, anvil and stirrup fromthe jaw is a defining characteristic of mammals. The evolutionary shift of those tiny bones, which started out as joints in ancient reptilianjaws and ultimately split from the jaw completely, gave mammals greatersensitivity to sound, particularly at higher frequencies (SN: 3/20/07). But finding well-preserved skulls from ancientmammals that can help reveal the timing of this separation is a challenge.

Now, scientists have sixspecimens four nearly complete skeletons and two fragmented specimens of a newlydescribed, shrew-sized critter dubbed Origolesteslii that lived about 123 million years ago. O. lii was part of the Jehol Biota, an ecosystem of ancientwetlands-dwellers that thrived between 133 million and 120 million years ago inwhats now northeastern China.

The skulls on the nearlycomplete skeletons were so well-preserved that they were able to be examined in3-D, say paleontologist Fangyuan Mao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences inBeijing and colleagues. That analysis suggests that O. liis middle ear bones were fully separated from its jaw, the team reports online December 5 in Science.

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Fossils from an older,extinct line of mammals have shown separated middle ear bones, but this newfoundspecies would be the first of a more recent lineage to exhibit thisevolutionary advance.

O. lii apparentlymoved its jaw both in side-to-side and in rolling motions as it chewed. Suchchewing ability, the team says, may have played a role in the evolutionaryseparation of the jaw and middle ear bones.

This paper describes aspectacular fossil, says vertebrate paleontologist Zhe-Xi Luo of theUniversity of Chicago, who was not involved in the new study. But hes notconvinced that O. lii represents anevolutionary leap forward in mammalian ear evolution.

Luo notes that O. lii is closely related to the mammalgenus Maotherium, which lived aroundthe same time and in roughly the same location. In Science in July, Luo and colleagues reported that a new analysis ofMaotherium revealed that its middle ear bones were still connected to its jawbones by a strip ofcartilage (SN: 7/18/19).

That finding, Luo says, wasexpected. Maotherium is well-known asa transitional organism, in which the middle ear bones had begun to rotate awayfrom the jaw but were still loosely connected by that cartilage. There arenumerous branches and twigs on the mammal family tree, Luo says, and evolutionoccurred at a different pace on them. But, he says, its unlikely that O. lii wouldhave had separated ear bones when Maotheriumdidnt, given the pairs close positioning onthe tree.

Luo says he also doesntfind the studys evidence that the separation was complete in O. lii convincing. Three of the fourskulls in the study were missing all or part of the middle ear, and the gapbetween the middle ear bones and jaw in the fourth skull may have been a breakthat occurred during fossilization, he adds.

However, the new studysresearchers reject this idea. Its common that different interpretations mayexist for a discovery in paleontology, says vertebrate paleontologist Jin Mengof the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a coauthor of the study.

But, Meng says, none of the ear bones or the cartilage in any of the skulls show fractured or broken edges. That, he says, suggests that these features were already separated in the animals before their demise.

The rest is here:
An ancient critter may shed light on when mammals middle ear evolved - Science News

Published 10:48am EST, Monday, December 9, 2019

Shelton fire departments responded to following calls this past week.

Monday, Dec. 2

At 7:07 p.m., the Huntington Co. #3, Echo Hose Co. #1 and the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to 6 Armstrong Road for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. Two engines, a ladder truck and the tower truck responded.

At 10:51 p.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 and the White Hills Co. #5 responded to Oak Avenue and Elm Street for a motor vehicle accident. A rescue truck responded.

Tuesday, Dec. 3

At 12:45 p.m., the Echo Hose Co.#1, Huntington Co. #3 and the White Hills Co. #5 responded to the Shelton Intermediate School, 675 Constitution Boulevard North, for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. A rescue truck and a ladder truck responded.

Wednesday, Dec. 4

At 4:24 a.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 and the Huntington Co. #3 responded to 1 Pine Needle Drive to assist EMS. An engine responded.

At 3:32 p.m., the Huntington Co. #3 and the White Hills Co. #5 responded to High Meadow Road and Mohegan Road for a motor vehicle accident. An engine responded.

Thursday, Dec. 5

At 9:15 a.m., the White Hills Co. #5 and the Huntington Co. #3 responded to 293 East Village Road for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. An engine responded.

Friday, Dec. 6

At 9:05 a.m., the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to 94 Ojibwa Trail to assist EMS. A unit responded.

At 10:30 a.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 and the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to the Shelton Group Home, 149 Hillside Avenue, for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. An engine responded.

At 1:59 p.m., the Huntington Co. #3, Echo Hose Co. #1 and the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to Fire Engine Pizza, 768 Bridgeport Avenue, for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. An engine responded.

At 7:49 p.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 responded to 56 Wakelee Avenue Extension for an occupant locked out of a unit. A rescue truck responded.

At 8:13 p.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 and the White Hills Co. #5 responded to 57 Roberts Street for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. The alarm was accidentally transmitted when the home owner changed the batteries. An engine responded.

Saturday, Dec. 7

At 12:23 a.m., the Huntington Co. #3, White Hills Co. #5 and the Echo Hose Co. #1 responded to 6 Beverly Lane for a fire in a outside storage shed. Upon arrival firefighters found the shed about 20 feet from the main house and completely engulfed in fire. The shed was destroyed as a result of the fire. A fire pit left too close to shed caused the fire. An engine, a rescue truck and a ladder truck responded.

At 4:06 a.m., the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to 94 Ojibwa Trail to assist EMS. An engine responded.

Sunday, Dec. 8

At 9:04 a.m., the Huntington Co. #3 responded to 505 Elk Run for a carbon monoxide alarm activation. A rescue truck responded.

At 10:13 a.m., the Echo Hose Co. #1 and the Pine Rock Co. #4 responded to 375 Bridgeport Avenue for a fire alarm activation. There was no fire. Two engines responded.

At 2:47 p.m., the fire marshal responded to 50 Cove Condominiums to investigate a fire that occurred in a motor vehicle.

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Fire log: Three companies respond to Beverly Lane shed fire - Shelton Herald

TAYLORSVILLE Two people caught in a shed collapse in Taylorsville had gone to the residence to disassemble the structure and salvage it for wood, police confirmed on Thursday.

On Wednesday, David Sligar, 64, of Layton, was killed and another man injured when a shed they were inside of collapsed, sending the roof crashing down on top of the two victims.

The men had responded to a classified ad online advertising free wood for anyone who disassembled the shed themselves, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray.

The accident happened in the backyard of a residence near 1900 West and 4700 South. After the 15-by-15 foot shed collapsed, a neighbor heard the surviving victim yell for help and called 911.

Gray did not know if either of the men had experience deconstructing sheds. She said the incident is considered a tragic accident and no criminal charges will be filed.

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Man killed in shed collapse was trying to collect wood, police say - KSL.com

Syleena Johnson is one of R&Bs finest singers. The singer has a jazz tone to her voice, setting her apart from many others in the industry and earning her a role in the Soul category. Shes released almost 10 albums, all of which are critically acclaimed.

Johnson has found a new passion outside of music and her current job as a daytime talk show host. Shes a fitness buff who recently competed in her first fitness competition and shared how she lost 50 pounds to prepare for her place on stage.

Prior to being signed with Jive Records, Johnson released two albums independently while promoting her music in Chicago. She became a muse and protge or R. Kelly. He worked on her first two albums. Her debut album on Jive was released in May 2001. The album received much praise and was critically acclaimed. It debuted at number one on Billboards Heatseekers, but was not a commercial success.

Shes released almost ten albums since, each titled in chapters. She received mainstream recognition when she was featured on fellow Chicago native Kanye Wests single, All Falls Down, despite not appearing in the music video.

In 2012, she began appearing on the TV One reality series, R&B Divas: Atlanta. The show aired for three seasons before its cancellation. She currently hosts the TV One talk show, Sister Circle.

Johnson has been open about her struggles with her weight. She began working out regularly in her 20s but as she aged, she realized the importance of adding proper nutrition. Shes shared her journey on her social media pages as well as her diet and workout regimen, which include clean eating and trying different treatments and detoxes.Johnson is also a certified yoga instructor.

Noticing the changes in her body and wanting to help others reach their fitness goals, she earned a bachelors degree from Drake University in nutrition science in 2015, where she graduated summa cum laude. She also shares advice and knowledge, including not being obsessed with checking progress on the scale.

Fans have noticed her weight loss over the past few months but she recently revealed that she was preparing for a fitness competition. In a Facebook video, she revealed that she passed on one completion, The Lee Haney Games, because she wasnt ready. After sticking to a strict diet and exercise and losing 50 pounds, she was finally ready to compete.

Im just pursuing all of the dreams and desires and goals and wants that God puts in my belly, she said, Being a fitness competitor is one of them. I will continue to compete hopefully with the grace of God, but the first competition, I just want to get on the stage.

Her competition was on December 7 and she won a title. On another Instagram post with her two trainers, she revealed she spent the last eight months n training and focused on weight training and building muscle.

At 41, Johnson proves that getting into top shape is possible at any age!

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Singer and Talk Show Host Syleena Johnson Shed Over 50 Pounds For a Fitness Competition - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Firefighters in Colorado Springs said no one was hurt while they battled a large shed fire early Friday morning.

According to firefighters, they were called out to a shed on fire behind a home on Alsace Way a little after 1:30 a.m.

"When we arrived, we saw a large body of fire in the rear of the house," said CSFD Lt. David Watts. "Our main concern was exposure to other structures, but we were able to quickly contain the fire once we got water on it."

Watts said the fire was so large, they thought the back of the house was on fire at first. Thankfully, the flames did not spread from the shed to any other buildings.

Inside the shed, firefighters said there were tools, equipment and building materials that caught fire, including a pile of firewood.

"We always encourage people to keep their firewood away from the houses because of an instance like this," Watts said. "A fire can easily spread from the outside to the inside if you have that firewood up against your house."

West Cheyenne Road was blocked off in both directions while crews battled the fire because they had to hook up a hydrant across the street.

During the fire, Watts said they were concerned about overhead power lines.

"The fire was actually exposing those lines, but the utilities were able to come and disconnect those," he said.

According to Watts, no firefighters and no one else was hurt during the fire. The cause is still under investigation.

The rest is here:
Shed fire under investigation in neighborhood near Broadmoor - KKTV 11 News