very close call w/house fire

[plumbstraight]

Food for thought. We have fire extinguishers in our rigs, homes, shop, you name it.

Why not a 5 min bottle of air with a mouthpiece that we can just grab off the wall in the kitchen, bedroom... workplace to be able to clear our family out. It is the gases that kill more than the flames. Would be enough time to clear the house.

If I were a marketing whiz, this would be something I would get on.

 

[schmism]

Food for thought. We have fire extinguishers in our rigs, homes, shop, you name it.

Why not a 5 min bottle of air with a mouthpiece that we can just grab off the wall in the kitchen, bedroom... workplace to be able to clear our family out. It is the gases that kill more than the flames. Would be enough time to clear the house.

If I were a marketing whiz, this would be something I would get on.

As a fire fighter,

youd spend less money and risk much less if you just went out the window after you opened the door to the hallway and found it full of smoke instead of risking the trip down the smokey hallway/room.

If for some strange reason you cant do that, stay low to the ground, crawl and make your way to the closest opening (a window, door etc). Smoke layers nicely and youll find even with dense smoke at the top of a hall/room there is still nice cool relitivly clean air at the floor.

Third if that isnt an option, start getting creative with exits. Its only drywall that separates your windowless room from the next that does have a window.


As to the point of this tread that EVERYONE should take away!

SMOKE DETECTORS

The OP story SHOULD have started with, "i awoke to the sound of a fire alarm going off!"

In my short time as a fire fighter i have responded to 2 different linseed oil'd rag fires.

 

[SandburRanch]

"Cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries.

**********************************************************

I'm predicting that some day my house will burn because of a cooking fire.

My wife is a intelligent person with a bachelor's in Home Economics and a masters in Special Education but is the worlds worst about leaving the kitchen area while cooking. Discussion of the subject hasn't helped so I make certain the insurance premium is paid each year.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Why not a 5 min bottle of air with a mouthpiece that we can just grab off the wall in the kitchen, bedroom... workplace to be able to clear our family out. It is the gases that kill more than the flames. Would be enough time to clear the house.

Why one one of these?

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Elmridge-Protection-Products-EBP-180-Certified/dp/B003JQL2RC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333728963&sr=8-2]Amazon.com: Elmridge Protection Products EBP-180 American Certified iEvac Fire Escape Hood, Clear: Home Improvement[/ame]

 

[jonyyuma]

Thanks for the Fire/rags reminders guys. I am about to do an M-1 stock myself..soon as i remember where the Lynseed can is located.??

 

[Combustix]

Food for thought. We have fire extinguishers in our rigs, homes, shop, you name it.

Why not a 5 min bottle of air with a mouthpiece that we can just grab off the wall in the kitchen, bedroom... workplace to be able to clear our family out. It is the gases that kill more than the flames. Would be enough time to clear the house.

If I were a marketing whiz, this would be something I would get on.

smoke hoods you can probably get one at any extinguisher supply, they are a one time use item, though they do have a shelf life, even though they are vacuum packed. You can also get escape bottles, but they are more expensive and a little training would be required.

 

[dodge man]

Good point on the smoke detectors. If you go back and read my story on page two where I put out a dryer fire in an apartment building I used to live in, the smoke detectors is what alerted me and the neighbors about the fire. We also had fire extinguishers in each apartment. With out that stuff, I'm sure the results would have been much more serious. I also couldn't believe how much smoke that little fire put out. It filled the hallways halfway down from the ceiling with dense smoke, but from knee level down, the air was clear. The fire department came and when they pulled the dryer out, you just were shocked at how small the fire really was, but could see how in just a couple of minutes more of burning, it could have burned the place to the ground.

 

[brin]

somewhere out there i have a lucky star...other night woke up @ 2:30 am, something wasn't right, weird smell. poked my head outside, yup, someone must be burning something. almost went back to bed, but did a house check....opened garage door, totally filled w/smoke. saw that a rag was smoldering (coals!) about to ignite. was resting against a bottle of stabil, and had containers of motor oil on above shelf.
the culprit? LINSEED OIL cloth i had used earlier that day. yes, i know linseed went through a heat when curing, but forgot & had tossed rag next to my mechanic rags earlier that day....within a few minutes everything would have ignited. THOSE WARNINGS ON LINSEED ARE REAL!!! take any soaked cloth outside & spread to dry.....who could have imagined an organic base oil would do it....i did but didn't think....something was watching over me!!!! thank you good fortune!

When I was about 17 yrs. old I was at my buddies house in his Dad's basement workshop helping him with a wood working project and we rubbed it out with Linseed Oil...we just laid the rags down on the floor when we finished...then we went to town to get some lunch and when we came back the fire trucks were there...his house had caught on fire...He stayed with me at my house with my family for the rest of Sr. yr. in High School while his house was rebuilt...Gotta watch that linseed oil...I have since then.

 

[PatasColo]

I used to throw old 1-gallon paint cans away. Recently, I've been having more oily rags, so I let the last bit of latex paint dry in the can; it peels off the inside real clean (like a sheet of rubber). Then, I let oily rags dry outside for a day, and then they go into one of these paint cans, sealed. (I dry them out in a very large, thick, empty ceramic planter, away from combustibles and weighted with stones).

I've sometimes wondered (since there can be smell/activity left) if the stuff could still ignite and blow the lid off the can BEFORE it ran out of oxygen? Anyone have an informed idea on this? Limited oxygen, but perhaps it would burn just enough to expand the remaining gases and blow the lid off the can?
-Mitch

 

[PatasColo]

On a related note, your thread caught my eye because of the "close call with house fire"...

Two nights ago, I fired up the woodstove to take the edge off the cool of the evening indoors. Out of newspaper/kraftpaper for a little startup fuel, so I used a few sheets from a financial prospectus (junkmail). The consistency of the paper was like wrapping tissue (thin, crinkly and noisy). Looked like it'd start right up. It was also stark white.

Well, I noticed a bit later that the fire smelled sorta "funny" (likely chemicals used in processing that paper). And the next day, my wife found dozens of little dime-to-half-dollar-sized flat bits of carbon paper (black ash; dissolve in your hand) OUTSIDE around our patio. We could tell it was that paper. It must've been light enough, and had structure enough to hold together and fly out the chimney. NEVER had that happen before! It's not just your basic wood/paper.

I gave thanks and know not to use that again... we live at the base of a foothill with lots of very dry grass and twigs , and I was sure thankful for the cheap lesson. Some of those pieces coulda' carried enough spark to start something up.
-Mitch