A house fire is always a tragedy

It's even worse when it's an apartment buiilding with four families living there.

It's even worse when some basic common sense was ignored.

I know how cold it gets up next to the canadian border.
I also know that you don't use a propane torch to unfreeze water lines.
Yes, plunbers use them, BUT they know what they're doing, and it's only long enough to melt a dab of solder...not to turn ice into water.

What I'm wondering though, is the fact that it got cold enough in that heated appartment to freeze the pipes in the first place.
Is he so poor that he has to shut off his heat when he's not there?
is it an uninsulated spot by the eave? If he could get to it with a torch, why not shove insul;ation in there?

Water freezes at 32 degrees, more less if it's moving.

What I'm wondering (in my anal way) is why it froze in the first place. I'd have to do smething about it,,, just because it could happen.

Yeah, the familt loves the way I think sometimes and the girls will be getting a new shower assy' because the hot water drips (and Thing 2 'can't' turn it off all the way) and I can't get the handle off to change the washer.