Fatal-fire Landlord: Mighty Boxer Has Struck Out

After declining to comment Wednesday and promising to issue a statement on Thursday (that would be today), the owner of the Houston office building where three were killed in a fire has taken strike two and strike three. As of this post, the landlord has not issued the promised statement. A 6:03pm CDT update from the AP in the Houston Chronicle says:

John Rentz, a vice president for Boxer Property Management...has not returned messages inquiring about the building and its fire-prevention capabilities.

Boxer has blown it. Big time.

Fatal-fire Landlord: We'll say something...tomorrow

The Houston Chronicle reports on a fire in a six-story Houston office building that killed three and injured at least six. The article reports that "the fire alarms hadn't sounded and the sprinklers hadn't gone off," according to two office workers from the building. At press time, the fire's cause was undetermined.

The landlord's response? "Boxer Property Management Corp., which manages the building, declined to comment on Wednesday and said a statement would be issued Thursday."

Here's a company that was caught unprepared, probably a result of the "it can't happen to me" mindset. The fact is that "it" can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. By now, the company should have issued a preliminary statement expressing condolences and concern for the dead, injured, and their families--with a promise to assist with the investigation into the fire.

To use a baseball analogy, this landlord has whiffed on the first pitch. The statement they've promised to make on Thursday is the second pitch. Will it be a strike? Or a hit?