WHY They Burned Documents: U.S. Shuts Down Chinese Consulate in Houston, Charges of Spying and Theft of Scientific Research

Last night we posted that smoke was seen coming from the Consulate General of China in Houston. Local police and firefighters were standing by outside the building at 3417 Montrose Boulevard. Video showed people in the consulate's courtyard burning documents.

The reason: Yesterday, the U.S. ordered China to close the consulate before the end of Friday, July 24. Though not happy about it, China is indeed shutting it down — at least for now.

#China’s consulate in #Houston is not a diplomatic facility. It is the central node of the Communist Party’s vast network of spies & influence operations in the United States. Now that building must close & the spies have 72 hours to leave or face arrest.

This needed to happen.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 22, 2020

Today on Google Maps the consulate, also called the "Passport and Visa Office of China Consulate General in Houston," is listed as "temporarily closed."

Consulate General of China in Houston Is Burning Documents In Their Courtyard; Houston Police and Fire On Scene

Video shows people who appear to be deliberately burning documents in the inner, open-air courtyard of the Consulate General of China in Houston. (See update here.)

"Houston police tell FOX 26 that they were burning classified documents because they are being evicted from the building on Friday at 4 p.m. When asked why the Chinese Consulate was being evicted, HPD told us to ask the U.S. State Department or President Donald Trump himself."

This video shared with us by a viewer who lives next to the Consulate General of China in #Houston shows fire and activity in the courtyard of the building.
DETAILS SO FAR: https://t.co/2cOeKoap96 pic.twitter.com/0myxe6HIlC

— KPRC2Tulsi (@KPRC2Tulsi) July 22, 2020

According to KPRC, "Houston police and fire officials are responding to reports that documents are being burned in the courtyard of the Consulate General of China in Houston, according to the Houston Police Department.

Updated: Weirdness at Possible Arson in Rogers Park 60626

Jan. 19, 2013 - Chicago News Bench has learned of two weird wrinkles in an otherwise ordinary fire story. A small fire broke out at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18 in the 7th-floor hallway of 1246 W. Pratt Boulevard (map). There were no known injuries and the flames were quickly extinguished with  only minor damage. Fire crews were gone by 11:15 p.m. However, here is where the real story begins: The bald guy and the mysterious lawn smoke detector.

Chicago police in the neighborhood of Rogers Park quickly began searching for a person of interest, who they think might have been involved with the fire in some way. Reports on the police scanner last night said that police were told by "a neighbor" that a man was seen "standing across the street" the previous night (on Thursday) "staring at the building" for a long time. The man was described as African-American, bald, 46 years old, possibly 5' 9" tall and wearing "a long trench coat." Did that man have anything to do with a possible arson?

More Weirdness: At 11:30 last night, I walked past the fire scene. There was a Chicago police SUV parked in front, with two uniformed officers doing paperwork. As I approached, I saw a smoke detector sitting in the grass in front of the property two doors east of 1246 W. Pratt. I told the police officers about it. "You don't often see a smoke detector sitting on the grass," I told them, "and the coincidence of seeing that right next to a fire scene must be even more rare." The driver smiled and said, "Thanks. I'll check it out."

UPDATE, Jan. 21: As of 10: 30 last night, the smoke detector was still on the grass, untouched, in exactly the same place that I first saw it on Saturday night. Apparently, the cop driving that SUV didn't give a crap about something that might be evidence in a possible arson case. Also apparent is the fact that he lied to me when he said he would "check it out."

Wrapping up: A guy in a long trench coat was seen Thursday night standing across the street "staring at" 1246 W. Pratt. The next night, a fire breaks out. A smoke detector is seen on the grass next door. Are these things connected? Why was the smoke detector where it was? Why did the cops take no interest in possible evidence of a crime?

Related: Possible Arson on Pratt Morse Hellhole

Raw Video: Fire Kills Dozens In Bangladesh Factory, Many Jumped To Their Deaths

December 14, 2010 - Bangladesh - The Associated Press reports that "dozens of people" were killed in the fire that "raced through a garment factory that supplies major multinationals such as Gap and JCPenney near Bangladesh's capital on Tuesday. Many of the dead included trapped workers who jumped from the smoldering building engulfed by flames, witnesses at the scene said." The Guardian UK reports that most of the dead jumped to their deaths from the ten-story factory. Raw video below....

Fire Destroys Apartment Building in Rogers Park (Video)

Nov. 7, 2010 - Chicago - An extra-alarm fire ruined a multiple unit apartment building in the 6600 block of N. Newgard Avenue in Rogers Park on Chicago's north side. (See video below or on YouTube.) About 100 firefighters responded to the blaze at the intersection of N. Newgard and W. North Shore around 12:45 p.m. Nobody was injured, although one firefighter was taken to a hospital in good condition for smoke inhalation and is expected to be released this evening. Chicago police detectives and bomb and arson personnel were investigating the scene of the fire after it had been extinguished. A resident of the building told Chicago News Bench that he lived on the ground floor. "My electronics are probably all ruined from smoke and water," he said. He and 54 other residents were hoping for Red Cross and city services to help them find temporary lodgings. This is the second extra-alarm apartment fire in the area encompassing Edgewater and Rogers Park in less than a month. On October 17, fire gutted a residential building at 1241-43 W. Granville Avenue, just a few blocks south of today's fire on N. Newgard. Tweet

Photos: Fire Destroys Apartment Building on Granville

Chicago - October 17, 2010 - Here are our slideshow (below) of the scene of a fire that gutted a co-op building on Chicago's north side yesterday at a six-unit, four-story apartment building at 1241-43 W. Granville Avenue. No residents were injured. One firefighter was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of exhaustion. According to a female resident who spoke to me in the alley, the fire started on the third floor of the co-op building. CPD officers were overheard later, on a scanner, as saying that five persons were displaced by the fire. The fire started around 3:45 p.m. (The time was incorrectly reported as "about 4:15" by the Chicago Tribune, but I saw the already-heavy whitish-gray smoke from the fire at 3:55 p.m. as I was walking a couple of blocks away.) More than 80 firefighters attended the extra-alarm fire, and police blocked off Granville from N. Broadway west to N. Lakewood for several hours.

Photos Of Lawrence House CFD Fire Drill

The Chicago Fire Department had four trucks and a mobile command center in front of Lawrence House retirement apartments this morning. Gad, I thought when I saw them, a second fire there since June 6, the third since March 9? Thankfully not, it was just a drill and "learning excercise" for firefighters. One of the fire officials on the scene told me that they were at Lawrence House to review their reaction to the June 6 fire and to use the experience to improve future responses. There have been accusations made by residents that the fire escapes are "falling apart on the second floor." However, when asked about that, the same CFD official told me that he was not aware of those allegations and, as far as he could tell, the escapes looked "okay." Indeed, when I stepped into the alley for a close look, they did not appear to be "falling apart" to my non-expert eye (see photos below; click images to enlarge them). However, Lake Effect News reports that, at the time of the March 9 fire, there were 46 open code violations including a "broken" fire escape.

	x
	x
	x

Hellish Fire Threatens Santa Barbara CA

May 6, 2009 - The Santa Barbara (California) Sheriff’s Department issued a following mandatory evacuation order due to the changing conditions of the Jesusita Fire. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of arson. Anybody who has information about the original of these fires is asked to call a fire tipline at 805-686-5074. Anonymous tips are welcome. The evacuation order went out at 6:20 p.m. PST (4:20 pm CST) today. Earlier today, there was hope that the fire was coming under control, but around 6:00 pm local time, it suddenly burst back in a vicious way. The governor has also declared a state of emergency for the area. A brush fire consumed homes and raged out of control in the hills above Santa Barbara today, fueled by dry, hot winds that are expected to continue into the night. The fire burned through lush green canyons dotted with expensive homes, burning at least 12 structures and perhaps many more. The job of roughly 900 firefighters was hampered by poor access to the fire area, officials said, as well as winds of up to 50 mph and thick brush that hadn’t burned in a half-century. "We are in a state of extreme emergency,'' said David Sadecki, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. "We're running very, very thin.'' Full Story at LA Times... CommieBama Hats and More Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter

Mandatory Evacuations for Jesusita Fire, Santa Barabara Sheriff Dept

SBC-JIC Jesusita Fire 008 DATE: May 6, 2009 TIME: 6:20 PM (Pacific Standard Time) Excerpt from press release; full press release here: http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Documents/PIO/Press_Releases/Current/01_Current_Press_Releases/2009-05-06_Jesusita_Press_Release_08.pdf The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department has issued the following MANDATORY evacuation order for the following areas due to the changing conditions of the Jesusita Fire. MANDATORY EVACUATIONS · The mandatory evacuation order has been expanded to include: San Roque and Foothill Road South to State Street (Western boundary), from State Street to Micheltorena,Micheltorena North to the end of the road extending to Alameda Padre Serra. · The overall mandatory evacuation order areas now includes: Morada Lane (Western boundary) and Ontare North to Camino Cielo, Foothill Road and Morada to San Roque,San Roque South to State Street (Western boundary), State Street to Micheltorena, Micheltorena North to the end of the road, extending to Alameda Padre Serra, Alameda Padre Serra East to Sycamore Canyon Road (Eastern boundary), North on Sycamore Canyon to HWY 192 West to El Cielito. EVACUATION WARNINGS · The evacuation warning area has expanded and now includes: La Cumbre Road (Western boundary) to State Street, State Street to De La Vina, De La Vina to Anapamu, Anapamu to Anacapa, Anacapa South to De La Guerra, De La Guerra to Milpas, Milpas to Montecito Street, Montecito Street to Alameda Padre Serra _________________________________________________ For more information go to the County’s website at http://www.countyofsb.org/ For more information on road closures, call Road Closure Hot Line at (805) 568-3006 or go to www.countyofsb.org/pwd/roads/closure.htm The Jesusita Fire Call Center number is 805-681-5197. The Animal Services Hotline is 805-681-4332. News Media Contacts: William H. Boyer Communications Director (805) 696-1163 wboyer@co.santa-barbara.ca.us Nina Johnson Public Information Officer City of Santa Barbara (805) 897-2476 eocpio@sbpd.com CommieBama Hats and More Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter

UPDATED: 131 Dead in Australia, Total Fire Ban Areas, Raw Video

Official Australian map that shows districts and municipalities currently under a "total fire ban" (TFB) from Country Fire Authority (CFA). NEWS UPDATES: DEATH TOLL TO HIT 230 (The Australian) Australian wildfires rage on after killing 131 (AFP) Arsonists could be charged with murder, says Attorney-General (The Australian)

Also: UPDATES & ADVICE for Urgent Threat Messages from CFA Also: Raw videos of fire fighting missions and more from CFA-TV. These are raw videos made by the firefighters themselves at fire scenes; some depict near-total devastation. CFA (Country Fire Authority), is headquartered in Victoria, Australia. They describe themselves as "one of the largest volunteer-based emergency management organisations in the world. As well as being one of the main agencies involved in bushfire fighting the agency provides emergency services to outer Melbourne and other major residential areas and major industries.CFA has 58,856 volunteers and 1,398 paid firefighters and staff." CNB RSS Feed

UPDATED: At Least 108 Have Died In Australian Inferno

UPDATED: Death toll now 108, climbing Australia is suffering badly from horrific wildfires. Entire towns have been consumed by fire, and now there is no doubt that at least 100 will die before this is over. Update from BBC... READERS IN AUSTRALIA: Please check urgent updates from the Country Fire Authority (CFA)! CNB RSS Feed

Australia's CFA Puts Total Fire Ban In Effect

Australia - At least 35 people have died in some of the worst wildfires in the nation's history. Over 247,105 acres (100,000 hectares) have burned or are still on fire in the Australian state of Victoria. The official death toll will undoubtedly rise as more bodies are discovered and the fires continue to rage. It is feared that many people are trapped in their homes. According to Australia's Country Fire Authority (CFA), "Today Sun, 8 Feb 2009 has been declared a Day of Total Fire Ban for the whole State of Victoria. No fires can be lit or be allowed to remain alight in the open air from midnight on Sat, 7 Feb 2009 until midnight tonight." (Source) RELATED: God help them … towns in flames Hectares to Acres conversion calculator CNB RSS Feed

Condo Fire: Sterno and Fire Logs

It takes all kinds of fools to endanger the rest of us. Last night The Bench ran down to photograph a condo fire at 4343 N. Clarendon to one unit. That's the good part. The bad part is that the fire was started by an act of incredible stupidity. Clarendon in Chicago. Nobody was badly hurt and the fire was confined. Lorraine Swanson covered it in News-Star, (where you can see two more of my photos). Chicago firefighters evacuated a 30-story condominium building in Uptown Sunday night when fire broke out on the 13th floor of 4343 N. Clarendon. Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Bruce Gebian told News-Star that the fire was contained to one unit and started when the man who lives in that unit was lighting fire logs with Sterno and some spilled on the floor. FULL STORY at News-Star...

ARSON AT MORSE THEATRE

CHICAGO - AUG. 10, 2008 (RPB) - Arson nearly destroyed a major theater construction project, just weeks from its hoped-for opening. Gang graffiti on the walls An athletic shoe print on the inside of one of the rear doors. A fire in the middle of what will become the main seating area of the theater. A can of beer. All suspicious items in the midst of what was obviously arson in the greatest project yet to be accomplished on the run down W. Morse Avenue in Rogers Park. As I was getting dressed just after 3:00 a.m., I heard confusion on the police scanner over the address of the fire. I ran over to the Morse Theatre. I could smell smoke as I left home three blocks away, sirens screaming in the background. Arriving on the scene, there were six fire trucks on the street and one in the alley west of the theater. The police made no attempt to secure what was obviously a crime scene, and it was not until 4:30 a.m. that a cop put a thin yellow across the three open rear doors. He left immediately, leaving nobody to stand guard, evidence within easy reach of anybody walking by. I could see gang graffiti scrawled on a rear wall and door, as well as on the rim of the mezzanine. A fire official on the scene later said that the graffiti looked like authentic gang tagging. Police crime scene tape covers the back of the building to preserve the evidence. City of Chicago and State of Illinois Fire Investigators are on scene also. Footprints and gang tags were also left behind. Theater owner-partner Andy McGhee said that the kitchen and restaurant were not entered or damaged directly. However, Mr. McGhee said the heavy smoke from the intense but short lived fire caused "some damage" throughout the theater. The vandals also broke two glass windows on the sound booth on the second level. The Morse Theatre was hoping to open in mid-September. Mr. McGhee said that this will "put us back a month or two, but we'll continue on. This won't stop us." At 6:30 a.m., Mr. McGhee was still speaking with the arson investigation team on the scene. Hookers walked by with their johns. A crack whore sat motionless on a front stoop half a block away. 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore did not bother to show up. Neither did 49th Ward Democrat Committeeman David Fagus.

ARSON ON ARGYLE? With Photos...

CHICAGO - EXCLUSIVE - THE BENCH learned at 2:30 a.m. that arson is suspected in a suspicious fire ravaged four businesses early this morning in Chicago's "Little Chinatown" in the northern Uptown neighborhood. The blaze started around 1:00 a.m. in the 1100 block of W. Argyle Street, adjacent to the Argyle CTA Red Line Station. The fire was under control by 2:00 a.m. The station was not damaged. No injuries were reported. At 1:15 this afternoon, several fire trucks came to the already busy scene because some of the rubble was still hot. A pump unit sprayed water into the gaping hole of what had been the roof of the Mien Hoa grocery store. ARSON? At approximately 2:30 a.m., the 20th District police dispatcher told units that a 911 call said somebody was seen running away from the scene with a gasoline can. (Studies have shown that very few people run away from blazing restaurants at 2:00 in the morning while holding a gasoline can, even in Uptown.) The destroyed businesses are: - Pride Home Realty and Globeserve Financial Services, Inc. (formerly CFIC Home Mortgage) - Vinh Tho Grocery Store - Mien Hoa Inc., grocery - Tien Giang Restaurant, Vietnamese & Chinese Lucky Enterprises and Kim Tam, immediately east of the fire, jeweler, appeared to be undamaged. EVACUATE? At approximately 1:45 a.m., police and fire officials debated whether or not to evacuate the large apartment building behind the four burning, single-story businesses. They decided not to evacuate, judging the fire under control (see more on this below). EXTREMELY INTENSE - The fire was, from observation, extremely intense. The Bench walked around the block and found chunks of burned wood, some over 1.5 inches square, on the sidewalk and in the street one block away from the actual fire, indicating a high thermal updraft that carried debris upwards to drift away. RELATED: Fire Guts Restaurant, Stores In Little Vietnam - CBS2 Chicago Fire controlled in Uptown building - Chicago Sun-Times Extra-alarm blaze in Uptown - Chicago Tribune Uptown Blaze Destroys Building - NBC5 Chicago 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith

Fireworks Cause Minor Damage to BroadMoor Apartments

Hundreds of residents at The Broadmoor Apartments on Howard Street had a brief smoke scare last week. The building contains 96 residential rental units.

A group of irresponsible punks placed a large type of firecracker on the boarded up window of a store room at around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1. The room's glass window had been replaced by a piece of plywood covering it. The powerful firecracker, attached to the plywood, started the wood smoldering. The window is on the ground level in an adjacent alley. An elevator shaft next to the storage room channeled smoke upward and into several floors.

The Chicago Fire Department responded quickly, put the fire out, and then did careful inspections of hallways on several floors immediately above the storage room and were satisfied that no danger remained.

Exclusive Photos: Fire in the Loop

A very non-dramatic fire, fortunately. The Bench was on the scene as relaxed first responders stood by at Adams and Canal in downtown Chicago at noon today. A small fire on a mattress caused minor injuries to two people. The intersection was blocked to vehicular traffic, but pedestrians were allowed to stroll through. Details at the Chicago Tribune.

UPDATED: ONE HURT AT FIRE AT LUNT & CLARK

UPDATED 6:20 pm
Latest as of 5:49 PM

Three Family-Run Businesses Destroyed (CBS-2) CTA is temporarily rerouting the No. 22 Clark and No. 96 Lunt buses in both directions as firefighters continue to battle the blaze, according to a CTA alert.
-------------------

Foam-Covered Clark St. Shut Down After Fire (MSNBC)
-------------------
Earlier (3:15 pm) CBS-2 report (with VIDEO): 1 Reported Injured In Rogers Park 2-Alarm Fire: (STNG) CHICAGO The CTA has temporarily rerouted two buses as a firefighters continue to battle an extra-alarm fire that has now reached three storefront businesses in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the Far North Side on Monday afternoon.Firefighters began battling the fire at 7014 N. Clark St. about 2:11 p.m. before it was upgraded to a still-and-box alarm minutes later, according to Fire Media Affairs Assistant Director Eve Rodriguez.

Craig Gernhardt has exclusive photos of the big fire this afternoon on N. Clark Street in Rogers Park. At Broken Heart... * Huge Fire on Clark Street (Updated)

2:45 pm - Rogers Park - Big fire at LUNT and CLARK... Craig Gernhardt (Broken Heart blog) on the way with a camera. I am at Lunt and Sheridan (7000 North Sheridan) and can smell smoke all the way over here.... DEVELOPING...

JOCELYN WROTE: I work right around the corner. There were more than half a dozen fire trucks out and streets blocked off all over the place. Word is it started in the bakery and spread to adjoining storefronts.

Another Fire on W. Estes Avenue in Rogers Park

Watch the exclusive Rogers Park Bench video here. The fire started just after midnight on Monday, January 22, 2007 - just hours after many of the residents of the large apartment building celebrated the Bears' win over Saints. Not a happy way to start the new year.