Fire

Fire was Originally Posted on December 26, 2011 by lavarock

I’m talking to a friend on the phone when all of a sudden, he smells smoke. Being a smoker he quickly looks in the trashcan and ashtrays, etc to no avail. Then I hear other voices and the words fire, and the phone call gets muffled. I can barely hear voices and lots of movement, like someone brushing paper or something.

Soon he comes back on the the phone and it sounds like he says “the house is on fire”. I tekll him to cut his electric because I think it could be an electrical fire. He does so, and as he calms down some I find that his house is not on fire, however, the house next door (perhaps 10 feet away) is fully engulfed and the wind is blowing sparke and flames his direction.

As I listen, the first of what become 6 firetrucks rolls up. He is spraying the side of his house and later his back yard as fireman try to quell the flames. The wind is very strong today as the end of a wind advisory comes to an end.

As the flames continue to diminish and flare again, I suggest he grab his wallet, kets and any important papers he can think of, because the flames might catch his house on fire and the firemen would instantly get him to leave (ready or not). He does so and is relieved that so far, his house remains safe.

An hour into this the fireman are still not sure what happened, but it looks like it started in the garage. We think the children were home and parents were not, and that someone MAY have opened a window after the flames started. This is all unsubstanciated rumor so don’t quote me, but by tomorrow we should know more details.

In defense of myself, when I buy houses, I look at where they are, what kind of traffic there is nearby (entrances/exits to the development), location of fire hydrants and whether I am in a flood plain or on top of a hill close to where lightning would find me. I would not live in a house with a neighbor 10 feet away with terrific wind all year round. But that is just me.

My particular farm is remote and not near a hydrant. It has a 4-wheel drive driveway that a fire truck could get down and I also opened another entrance to make it easier. However, I don’t think the fire department knows where I live or how to get here.

I don’t leave the dryer or oven on when I’m not at home, and even cut the hot water heater off if I’m gone for a couple days (moreso to save electricity). Being near the ocean I do have issues with light sockets and switches corroding and replace them as soon as I see a problem.

Then there is the 20,000 gallons of water sitting in the tank next to my house which could be used by a pumper. I also have another 60,000 gallons up the hill, but I think it would take hours to refill the tank at the bottom if it was being used by a fire truck.

It may be the perfect time to go visit the local fire station with Google Maps of my farm and tank locations, etc. I did look up specific connectors that could be used by fire departments but I think with all the catchment tanks on the island, they may be able to easily drop a hose into the tank. It is certainly a thing to ask about.

So far, my friends house is safe and no dage done except a couple bushes that burned and his yard got lots of water and foam all over it.

The neighbors have not had such a nice Christmas, except it look like everyone is safe.