Four alarm fire in Urbandale right now...

[ISUFan98]

at John Kline's house.

You know, the same John Kline who owned Oaks Development with Dave Walters (whose massive Fuller Rd. mansion was foreclosed on), and on Friday had a fraud judgment of $4.5MM entered against him in Polk County court.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090207/BUSINESS/902070330

His house is assessed at $1.2MM

http://www.assess.co.polk.ia.us/p/7925/30/276/030/792530276030a.jpg

[OlePeep]

Wonder if he's in there...

[ISUFan98]

Wonder if he's in there...

That's exactly what I was thinking, as well as where his wife and kids are.

[Monster]

"Light a match."

http://rayliotta.net/screencapimages/goodfellas.jpg

[MikeyJoe]

Wonder if he's in there...

That's exactly what I was thinking, as well as where his wife and kids are.
I was thinking insurance.

[Jimmie Dimmick]

I've been in that house. It was the key house in the Home Show the year it was built. It doesn't look like much from the front, but it's got at least a 5 car garage, and the basement is bigger than the first level (it pushes out the back, towards the timber).

[TallGrass]

http://www.geocities.com/redroadcollective/images/smellsfishy.gif

[newsbreaker]

Wonder if he's in there...

That's exactly what I was thinking, as well as where his wife and kids are.
I was thinking insurance.

My first thought as well, but I hope everyone is safe.

Little men with big dreams go down hard, apparently.

[bigazzturkeylegs]

The house is a total loss. From the Rag:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090210/NEWS/90210002/1001/NEWS&community=Urbandale

[Aloha Mr. Hand]

Sicilian lightning.

[TallGrass]

http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D2&Date=20090210&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=90210002&Ref=V3&Profile=1001&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0
http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D2&Date=20090210&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=90210002&Ref=V2&Profile=1001&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

[mobyditch]

Nothing mysterious about this fire..

The home belongs to a West Des Moines developer John Kline who recently lost a $4.5 million fraud case in Dallas County.

[nolookpass]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

[ISUFan98]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

[mobyditch]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Where's the video??

[newsbreaker]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

I know nothing about fire. How would the wind affect that? It was VERY windy in that area last night.

[boneshawk]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Dude paid monster to come over and light a couple of his farts.

[ISUFan98]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Where the video??

I saw video on the news this morning. You might be able to find it on KCCI.com or WHOTV.com.

[Monster]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Dude paid monster to come over and light a couple of his farts.

LOL.

Innocent, sir.

[Jimmie Dimmick]

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Where the video??

I saw video on the news this morning. You might be able to find it on KCCI.com or WHOTV.com.

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

[nolookpass]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

[cjhawks]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

Where's the video??

I think WHO has it linked on their site moby

[Jimmie Dimmick]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

No. DSM Lincoln's John Kline is who you're thinking of. 'Played OL' is kind of generous.

No relation.

[Monster]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

He's one of my best buddies. Wasn't him.

[ISUFan98]

you would think a million dollar house would have sprinklers...

You can't burn down a house for insurance money with sprinklers, NLP. Duh.

Seriously though, Based on the video I saw this morning, there's no way a house that big could burn that hot without an accelerant being used.

I know nothing about fire. How would the wind affect that? It was VERY windy in that area last night.

The wind would affect it some but not really until the windows were open/broken, and the fire has to get real hot before that happens. The wind is a bigger problem once the flames are through the roof, because then you have to control the exposure to surrounding buildings. By the time the fire flashed over (contents of a room spontaneously combust due to extreme heat--usually around 1000-1500 degrees or so), the wind just gave it more and more oxygen.

I just find it odd that Walters' and Kline's homes burned on extremely windy days. Hmmmm...

[Jimmie Dimmick]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

He's one of my best buddies. Wasn't him.

What'd he drive to school? Wrangler? I remember seeing him for the first time and thinking that they had shrunk the Wrangler, or it was being driven by a Gorilla.

[nolookpass]

from what Ive been told, if you pour gas down the vents these houses go up instantly.

A guy I know had two houses torched a year or two ago in Altoona.

[drbutkus]

Good Lord, that home is less than a thousand yards from mine. I got home from a movie (Taken, not a bad flic) and crashed about 1130, didn't know a thing.

It is incredible how these goomba's will do anything to keep from flying commercial. Anyone else ever read A Man in Full?

[ISUFan98]

Where the video??

I saw video on the news this morning. You might be able to find it on KCCI.com or WHOTV.com.

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.

[Jimmie Dimmick]

I saw video on the news this morning. You might be able to find it on KCCI.com or WHOTV.com.

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.

I watched a guy's garage go up, fast, and he had a propane tank in it, that lit, and it shot 7 foot flames sideways for about a minute, burning a hole in the garage and setting the house on fire.

They don't always explode.

[Klink]

I saw video on the news this morning. You might be able to find it on KCCI.com or WHOTV.com.

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.


Natural gas typically burns. The reason for the explosion is because the room fills up with the gas and then is ignited.

[brantshawks]

There are fail safes on gas lines and propane tanks so that the seal melts and lets the gas out instead of letting the container (or line) expand and explode.

[Sambud]

Didn't a $5 million Walters home burn a few years back? Not sure if it was Kline's partner or his partner's brother's home. Kind of an odd coincidence in any case.

I rented commercial space from probably a dozen different landlords/developers when I had businesses. I got along great with all of them except one, Oaks Development and Kline in particular. I would say more but I'd be afraid of getting sued.

[ISUFan98]

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.


Natural gas typically burns. The reason for the explosion is because the room fills up with the gas and then is ignited.

Houses don't burn down when gas lines fail. They explode when gas lines fail.

[brantshawks]

Didn't a $5 million Walters home burn a few years back? Not sure if it was Kline's partner or his partner's brother's home. Kind of an odd coincidence in any case.



Wasn't quite $5m but it was a nice one. In WDM next to the apartments I was living in at the time.

That was a Walters home.

[ISUFan98]

Didn't a $5 million Walters home burn a few years back? Not sure if it was Kline's partner or his partner's brother's home. Kind of an odd coincidence in any case.

I rented commercial space from probably a dozen different landlords/developers when I had businesses. I got along great with all of them except one, Oaks Development and Kline in particular. I would say more but I'd be afraid of getting sued.

That was Dave Walter's home on Fuller Rd. It was rebuilt and is now for sale (only $3.9 million) after being foreclosed on.

I worked for a floorcovering retailer for a couple of years, and by far the worst company to collect past due bills from was Oaks Development. In an industry where corruption is common, they were some of the shadiest of the bunch.

[ISUFan98]

You'd be surprised how fast and hot a house can burn. A 13,000 sq ft. house has a lot of linear feet of gas lines.

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.

I watched a guy's garage go up, fast, and he had a propane tank in it, that lit, and it shot 7 foot flames sideways for about a minute, burning a hole in the garage and setting the house on fire.

They don't always explode.

The pressure in a propane tank is a lot more than the pressure in a residential gas line. A propane tank is usually around 100-110 psi, while a residential line is 0.5 psi or so. You're not going to get equivalent fire behavior in a residence with NG to the situation you described, which isn't uncommon with pressurized LP vessels.

[Klink]

I have yet to see a house burn like that because the gas lines failed.

Besides, natural gas is more of an explosion hazard than a burning hazard.


Natural gas typically burns. The reason for the explosion is because the room fills up with the gas and then is ignited.

Houses don't burn down when gas lines fail. They explode when gas lines fail.


Is this addendum to my post?

[Monster]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

No. DSM Lincoln's John Kline is who you're thinking of. 'Played OL' is kind of generous.

No relation.

Johnny actually lettered 3 years as the long-snapper, won B10 special teams player of the week once, and had a handful of starts, iirc.

Yep, he drove a '48 Willy. It was small, and he was huge. He put something like a 350 in that sucker. He had to be careful not to hit the gas too hard or the front end would lift. I used to love riding home from football in that thing, top off, mullets flying in the wind.

[Glen]

wasnt there a John Kline who played Ol for the Hawks? Is this the same guy?

No. DSM Lincoln's John Kline is who you're thinking of. 'Played OL' is kind of generous.

No relation.

Johnny actually lettered 3 years as the long-snapper, won B10 special teams player of the week once, and had a handful of starts, iirc.

Yep, he drove a '48 Willy. It was small, and he was huge. He put something like a 350 in that sucker. He had to be careful not to hit the gas too hard or the front end would lift. I used to love riding home from football in that thing, top off, mullets flying in the wind.

Cranial or scrotal?

[Monster]

No. DSM Lincoln's John Kline is who you're thinking of. 'Played OL' is kind of generous.

No relation.

Johnny actually lettered 3 years as the long-snapper, won B10 special teams player of the week once, and had a handful of starts, iirc.

Yep, he drove a '48 Willy. It was small, and he was huge. He put something like a 350 in that sucker. He had to be careful not to hit the gas too hard or the front end would lift. I used to love riding home from football in that thing, top off, mullets flying in the wind.

Cranial or scrotal?

You know how short the athletic shorts were in those days, Glen.

[Tonto]

I would say more but I'd be afraid of getting sued.



I think this dude has a little more precarious items on his plate.

[ISUFan98]

Didn't a $5 million Walters home burn a few years back? Not sure if it was Kline's partner or his partner's brother's home. Kind of an odd coincidence in any case.

I rented commercial space from probably a dozen different landlords/developers when I had businesses. I got along great with all of them except one, Oaks Development and Kline in particular. I would say more but I'd be afraid of getting sued.

I don't think him and his minions are scoping out message boards for libel. Well, maybe except Jerry Wanek. :D