Pleaae play it safe

[Retiredguy2]

Just read a Facebook post from a very close friend of mine, she took the weekend off to drive down and visit her younger cousin down south and her message was heartbreaking: "It was very sad to see him in the burn unit, he lost part of one leg and has been in the burn unit of a hospital for over two months now. He cannot move his arms and lost his left leg below the knee and he is in intense pain and has no memory of the incident that killed his girl friend and that her young daughter died in. Nobody wants to tell him what occurred. Is is really heartbreaking to see a man in such pain and suffering and I wish I could do more...."

Well....the only reason I am telling you guys this is because we all make careless mistakes at time with no thought of the possible consequences. Ever refuel a gas powered lawnmower, etc when it was still hot? Ever climb up a ladder when it wasn't the safe thing to do? Even use power tools when you were really tired? Even gotten under a vehicle that was on jack stands and could fall? Ever worked on electrical wiring when you did not really know where the power was coming from? Ever try passing another car when you were not sure if there was another car coming toward you?

I could go on and on, and have likely done many or all of the above things without thinking of the possible result from my actions. We probably all do. But it really saddens me to learn that a 35 year old man lost his home, his health, his girlfriend and her daughter, and everything else that mattered to him because for some reason someone thought "Oh, it's okay if I plug this space heater into an undersized extension cord...." Have I ever done that? No. Have I ever made stupid mistakes that could destroy my life and forever change the lives in my family? Sadly, yes I have. I do think we all need reminders in some way that our lives can change in an instant because we did not think of the possible consequences of our actions.

So...PLEASE PLAY IT SAFE.

 

[kevin37b]

Not good at all . What happened ?

 

[SJay]

Thanks for the reminder - sorry about the sadness in your friends life.

 

[Retiredguy2]

Not good at all . What happened ?

I am sorry you did not realize what happened...they are certain that the fire in the mobile home was caused by an undersized extension cord being used to power a space heater. I do think I made that clear.

 

[PILOON]

Yeah, undersized extensions.
Friends tenant left for a short period and turned down all his heaters to low.
Well those portables were on dollar store extensions, probably up to 3 (like one in each hole).
Well it went really cold on Xmas nite and all those heaters tried to raise the temperature but stayed on so long in the attempt that a fire started causing $400k damage.
Quite simple to understand; 3000 watts on #16 (or possibly #18 wire) with a 30 amp fuse in the pannel = disaster.

Took friends insurers almost 1 1/5 yrs to settle as street rumors hinted on arson.
Fire started upstairs and burned a 10 ft hole thru the floor and you could see where the wires melted.
The structure stayed standing but with big burn holes in the roof and humongous water damage.
He re built (bigger and better) but had terrible time getting insured on new building.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I happen to live in the same county where this happened. Very sad. The daughter was also in a burn unit and had lost all of her fingers and one thumb but in the end she did not survive.

 

[4570Man]

Yeah, undersized extensions. Friends tenant left for a short period and turned down all his heaters to low. Well those portables were on dollar store extensions, probably up to 3 (like one in each hole). Well it went really cold on Xmas nite and all those heaters tried to raise the temperature but stayed on so long in the attempt that a fire started causing $400k damage. Quite simple to understand; 3000 watts on #16 (or possibly #18 wire) with a 30 amp fuse in the pannel = disaster. Took friends insurers almost 1 1/5 yrs to settle as street rumors hinted on arson. Fire started upstairs and burned a 10 ft hole thru the floor and you could see where the wires melted. The structure stayed standing but with big burn holes in the roof and humongous water damage. He re built (bigger and better) but had terrible time getting insured on new building.

Who heats a house of that value with space heaters?

 

[CalG]

My heart goes out to those that have suffered.

But the generic "play it safe" admonishment falls on deaf ears (mine anyway) Yes, I try to do things safely. but as a realist, I know there are risks. Automobiles for instance. They are more the risk to us all than "house fires".

Falls in the home are number one! (IIRC). What can one do to climb or descend stairs "safely"? Use the hand rail?

Perhaps if this post were specific to the loss I would be more sympathetic. General supplications to "be safe" just don't do anything for me.

I do not keep bulk rolls of bubble wrap at my bedside for when I start the day.
I DO ride motorcycles, often at high speeds.
I use power tools, machine tools and powered equipment often, often without all "recommended" safety equipment.
I do take responsibility for my actions.
I do make every effort to not endanger anyone else while I go about living my life.


"Live simply, that others may simply live.!"

 

[PILOON]

Who heats a house of that value with space heaters?

It was an old commercial building that had a 2nd floor apartment. We always chuckled at the insurance coverage as the insurers forced it on him claiming he would be considered as a co insurer should a claim occur.
It was all based on square footage and costs per foot to construct that size.
Tenant was a total airhead but the only one dumb enough to rent that 'dump' upstairs. (might be considered 'white trash')
That building had been renovated (??) more than a few times having been a restaurant , pawn shop and chiropractor's office.
He had always planned to demolish and rebuild and in fact had requested a permit to do so and that did not help when insurers learned of the fact as that laid suspicion on him as it was very convenient to get a settlement to help finance the new building.
Also in the immediate area there have been many 'friction fires' in restaurants owned by the underworld types, so much so that a number of underwriters no longer accept risks.
Anyway he pulled thru and now has a nice new building.

To add insult to injury when the new building was within a week of being occupied a disgruntled person attempted to set fire but failed however the smoke damage was considerable and caused a months delay.
That damage was covered by the contractor policy.

 

[Soldier415]

And never use gasoline to get a burn pile going...

 

[turnkey4099]

And never use gasoline to get a burn pile going...

I cut for firewood, burn my brush piles yearly. Work with another guy occasionally. He by gosh INSISTS that one needs to at leasst mix gas with the diesel. This in spite of me demonsstrating repeatedly that diesel sstarts just fine with one match and it is the diesel in his "mix" that does the work. Gas just goes WOOSH and dies, diesel keeps burning long enough to start the fire.

There are others in my breakfast group that insist on gasoline also.

 

[KYErik]

I use gas and used motor oil at about 50/50. I have used more gas. The "whoosh" does give me an adrenaline rush- though I am smart enough to stay upwind of the fumes when I light it.

 

[JamesHW]

I cut for firewood, burn my brush piles yearly. Work with another guy occasionally. He by gosh INSISTS that one needs to at leasst mix gas with the diesel. This in spite of me demonsstrating repeatedly that diesel sstarts just fine with one match and it is the diesel in his "mix" that does the work. Gas just goes WOOSH and dies, diesel keeps burning long enough to start the fire.

There are others in my breakfast group that insist on gasoline also.

Sorry for the family's tragedy...

As to burn piles this may be a good time to repeat my no fail way of lighting brush piles. Leave an alcove underneath the pile that you can access. Get one of those chimney style charcoal starters that use crumpled paper under the charcoal. Have a support underneath the pile that the lit charcoal can sit on (I use an old shovel that is missing it's handle). After a few minutes when the charcoal is burning well in the starter chimney, pour it into the alcove and make sure enough material is directly over the burning coals.

I've used this method to get soaking wet piles started with ease while it was raining. The burning coals put off enough heat to dry out and engage the material above them and get a good core fire going, no muss, no fuss.

 

[deerefan]

Sorry for the family's tragedy...

As to burn piles this may be a good time to repeat my no fail way of lighting brush piles. Leave an alcove underneath the pile that you can access. Get one of those chimney style charcoal starters that use crumpled paper under the charcoal. Have a support underneath the pile that the lit charcoal can sit on (I use an old shovel that is missing it's handle). After a few minutes when the charcoal is burning well in the starter chimney, pour it into the alcove and make sure enough material is directly over the burning coals.


I've used this method to get soaking wet piles started with ease while it was raining. The burning coals put off enough heat to dry out and engage the material above them and get a good core fire going, no muss, no fuss.

Good idea. I do similar, using a small fire starter log when the pile is damp/wet. You can get 20 of them for $10 at the local co-op. A lot safer and cleaner than fuel. When dry, I just use paper or old feed sacks.

 

[4570Man]

I save old 5 gallon oil buckets with the lids and save used motor oil in them. Then I burn it in brush piles. I end up draining bad gas out of other people's equipment who wasn't smart enough to put ethanol free gas in it and that gets mixed with the oil but it's not necessary.

 

[PILOON]

'nother thing that works great is to soak some tentest chunks with fuel and once ignited burns just fine.
My fireplace gets started using egg cartons, I get the big 12 x 12 (trays) from the local breakfast place. One 'tray' and 5-6 pieces of kindling and one match does it every time.

 

[nap61]

A trick I learned here on TBN is to soak a roll of toilet paper with diesel then put the roll as far in the pile as you can and light it. I have burned wet piles this way.

Norm

 

[kenmac]

makes one wonder, if the wire got that hot, why it never tripped a breaker, or blew a fuse ?

 

[PILOON]

makes one wonder, if the wire got that hot, why it never tripped a breaker, or blew a fuse ?

Age old problem with fuses is folks simply screw in a higher value, that or an old trick was to use a penny and failing that to wrap in foil.