Why do I have an increasing dislike of nearly all things government?
Horace Burgess of Crossville opened "The Treehouse The Way," a popular, 100-foot tall structure in Crossville, as a ministry.
On Aug. 30, state authorities closed it as a safety precaution.
Better Half and I had the distinct pleasure of stopping by The Treehouse on the way to Oleg’s one day, and I have to admit that it was one of the more-awesome constructs I have ever seen, much less crawled around in, especially when you consider that a very small group of people – and mostly one man – did all of the building by hand. Sure, the guy might have a few screws loose, but he was not hurting anyone, and he went out of his ways to post signs and warnings on his property that if you were going to be crawling around The Treehouse, you were literally taking your own life into your hands.
And to be sure, there were more than a few spots on the structure where one good slip or one loss of balance would be rather painful for the parties involved, and there were a few ledges, overhangs, and specifically the tower where I simply did not go because I am an acrophobic pansy-ass, but what the hell else would you honestly expect from a building hand-constructed by someone believing God instructed him to do so? I mean, Horace Burgess – the mastermind behind this particular feat of humanity – is not exactly bashful with his mission of preaching and spreading The Good Word, and driving up to the building you cannot help but notice that it really does look like something slapped together by someone in their spare time.
But in the nearly-20 years it has been open, not a single person has been hurt or killed at The Treehouse to my knowledge… because, despite the State Fire Marshall’s apparent belief otherwise, people are not idiots, and they can look after themselves.
If I want to put my neck on the line by crawling around some dude’s overgrown outgrowth of whatever it is he thinks the voices are telling him to do, then that is on me. If I slip and fall to my death in the process, then that is on me for putting myself in that situation. If I have a grand old time and go home with a compact flash card full of pictures, then that is on me. Why? Because I am responsible for my own life – just like you are responsible for your own life, whether you own up to it or not – and I do not need some pissant meddling bureaucrat to remind me that what I am doing could be dangerous. In other words, because f*ck you.
Crap on a crutch – I felt safer on The Treehouse than I did descending Alum Cave Trail from Mount LeConte when the latter was covered in melting ice and snow; both are "tourist attractions", both are potentially dangerous, but, ironically, only the former has warning signs on it and only the former is currently closed.
Anywise, there is a Change.org petition to re-open The Treehouse, though I doubt it will matter in the long run, and you can contact the Tennessee State Fire Marshall’s office (politely, please) at 615.741.2981 (again, not that I think it will make a huge difference). Personally, I found the structure absolutely fascinating, but I would probably be equally entranced by the Winchester Mystery House, so take that for whatever it may be worth. For the time being, here are some pictures we took from our visit:
I will try to get some better ones up later this weekend… I wish now I had taken more.
(Note: Just for clarity’s sake, my objection to this turn of events has precisely nothing to do with Mr. Burgess’ faith and the fact that it is nominally the same as mine; I simply object to the government sucking the fun out of life – to understate things significantly – at every available opportunity.)
God told him to build that thing? Wow. He’s got a mean sense of humor.
That actually looks like mostly decent-quality construction, based on your pictures. Certainly better than I could do with a bunch of other people, let alone by myself, Divine Inspiration notwithstanding. Am I missing something?
You have the same opinion as my own! The fact that it was built for a religious reason is not WHY I oppose it closing. It is the way the Fire Marshall’s Office used codes not for this structure. I was the one who started the petition on change.org hoping to raise awareness.
We hadvthe opportunity to visit this plave several years ago. It was open dawn to dusk with vidit at own risk signs posted. It was wild & crazy and built sturdier that some houses. No charge for visiting & regardlesd of whether you agree with Mr Burgess, it should be allowed to remain open. Tired of govt telling me what & what I can’t do. Shame on the fire marshall for sticking their nose in a personal endeavor.
@ Joel: Have you read the Bible?
@ Archer: The full report is available here, but the fire folks seem to have issues with “no lag bolts, support structures, or other acceptable devices to maintain the building’s structural integrity”, “no apparent building plan”, “random piecing together”, “no pre-emergency planning”, height above what the fire department’s equipment can reach, no engineer involved in the construction, no “systemic load distribution system”, “floor decking is uneven in places and presents trip hazard”, stairs being uneven, fall hazards due to lack of guard rails, exits not marked, and, of course, “no fire alarm, fire sprinkler, or fire extinguisher apparatus present”.
@ Natosha: Thanks for putting together the petition – it seems to be doing better than I thought it would, and I applaud your efforts at spreading the word about this.
@ Knoxville: Given that he does not charge for admission and pretty much just offers it up for those who want to stop by, I am really not seeing how this is anyone’s business but the participants’, but I guess the government will be the government these days.
The fire marshall should gave no say since it is personal property & not a licensed business. Otherwise they should tear down every dilapidated house/trailer, etc that people live in thru-out TN. Dismayed at comment be person who saiwd govt will be the govt. Govt works FOR us not dictates to us. We need to stand up & demand changes!
@ Linoge:Thank you! I feel that it is an important cause to expect the State Fire Marshall’s Office to help us create NEW codes so it can be reopened safely to the public. I’m very familiar with the codes they used, and unfortunately they are not plausible in this instance. They say that it CAN hold up to 50 people etc…however, that was not the number of INTENDED occupancy at one time…rarely, if ever would it reach that number especially at one time. It’s sad that they refuse to work with an everyday individual that tries to help the community any way he can.
@ Knoxville: If you could care to read more of my site than just this one post, I think you will find that I am probably more dissatisfied with the monster our government has become than you are.
However, it is the government we allowed, and, in point of fact, it is the government we wanted because we keep electing the same petty authoritarians to office.
Consider the case of the treehouse, and specifically the clause in the Fire Marshall’s report about the requirement to have an “engineer” involved in the construction thereof. Put simply, that is nothing more than a pure racket. An “engineer” does not need to be involved in every construction project known to mankind, yet if you were to add a sunporch to your house in some jurisdictions, you would still have to hire one, pay megabucks for one, and have the documentation signed by one.
Why? Because some group of engineers convinced the government to pass a law saying you have to. And why has that not gone away? Because we did not get rid of the duly-elected representatives who passed that law.
We are victims of our own apathy.
@ Natosha: The fact that building codes do not apply to treehouses amuses me, though, honestly, referring to that structure as a “treehouse” any more is a bit of a stretch. Sure, it has no real foundation as such, but neither is it being entirely supported by the trees around it.
I do think establishing new codes for such massive treehouses might be a good idea, though, so long as it does not impact fathers building ones in their back yards
.