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clv101 · Site Admin Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 7896

Very sorry hear that Adam. Glad it wasn't more serious and repairs are manageable.

I've read a bit about the dangers of malfunctioning Li batteries. These days there are literally 10s of million phones, tablets and laptops, left on charge overnight, under beds, on sofas etc where a couple of decades ago there were ~none. Have we seen a dramatic increase in house fires?

Maybe less smoking (number one cause), less cooking, especially deep fat frying (anyone still have a chip pan?) and better regulations regarding flammable furniture etc have more than offset the new risk posed by Li batteries?

In fact, fire deaths haven been on a long term downward trend, 775 in 1981-82 when comparable figures started being collected to under 300 today (in England).
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Little John · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 6381 Location: UK

I still have a deep fat frying pan.

I am northern.

adam2 · Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 8:47 am Post subject:

A local fire officer whom I know states that the number of domestic fires has remained roughly the same for many years, but the number of lives lost has been much reduced by the general use of smoke alarms.

A growing cause of fire in North Somerset is incorrectly installed or carelessly used wood stoves.
Drying laundry too close to the stove, chimney fires, and the ignition of firewood placed too close to the stove are common causes of fire.

The general use of polyester duvets and pillows instead of wool blankets and feather pillows was also noted as an increased risk.
Defective, poor quality, or misused extension leads are an increasing cause of fire.
Outdoor fires started by barbecues are a growing problem, these sometimes spread to houses or other buildings.

Fires due to smoking materials and from cooking have indeed declined. Fewer people cook at home, especially after drinking, due to the number of fast food outlets available.
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"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

vtsnowedin · Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 1:37 pm Post subject:

I hope the dog gets a attah-boy and some first class steak kibble. Very Happy

adam2 · Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 2:09 pm Post subject:

adam2 · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:46 am Post subject:

Repairs now completed.
4 floor joists replaced, and most of the flooring in one upper room.
Ceiling replaced in the area where the fire started.
Total cost including replacing damaged contents estimated at about £10,000, insured.
There is still a slight smell of smoke.

I recently met two of the firefighters who attended, they described this fire as one of the more challenging that they have been to.
Although a relatively minor fire, it was very challenging due to the restricted access and limited water supply.
In such circumstances, the leading fireman on the first appliance would normally order a water tanker, but in this case access was too restricted.

Of particular note was that a total loss was almost certainly avoided by the several thousand litres of water stored in IBCs on site.
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"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

kenneal - lagger · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:04 pm Post subject:

Planning normally requires at least a 3.6m (12 ft) wide access for the fire brigade, nothing about water supply though. We've got a one inch water supply from our meter and anything else is at least 400 metres away and the other side of a trunk road so that would cause problems.

We do have several thousand litres in IBCs but with the current weather that could reduce quickly. We don't, however, have any cats of dogs to go to sleep on charging mobile phones or laptops.
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As Steve Keen puts it: “Capital without energy is a statue; labour without energy is a corpse.” Economics ignores this which is why economics is broken.

adam2 · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:32 pm Post subject:

The access to the property is very limited, and I am a bit surprised that it was allowed. I suspect that it would not be allowed in the case of a new development, but was "grandfathered" in the case of constructing a new dwelling on a site used for a previous home.

Mains water is available, but only in very limited volumes of little use for serious fire fighting. It goes off entirely when the neighbours cows are thirsty !

The fire engine could get no closer than about 100 meters, the firefighters had to make a long hose run into the house to use the water carried on board, and carried a portable pump to use the water stored on site.

Afterwards, the firefighters said it felt like a training exercise in which extra difficulties are introduced in order to test the skills and initiative of firemen.

Extra IBCs are to be obtained just in case of another fire.
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"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

adam2 · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:16 pm Post subject:

A slight smoke smell remains, but otherwise all is now good.
Structural damage was limited to a few floor joists, replacing these was very awkward.
All reserve stocks of bedding and clothing have been laundered.

I assisted with replacing fire damaged wiring.

An extra 9 IBCs have been purchased and filled with water as a fire fighting reserve. At my suggestion, these are linked together in groups of three.
Firefighters may therefore pump from the middle one of each group of three, and obtain 3,000 litres of water at a time without transferring the pump suction from one container to another.
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"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

clv101 · Site Admin Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 7896

kenneal - lagger · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:53 pm Post subject:

You can generally get IBCs free, at least around Newbury. Most of ours are 1200 litre capacity as well. We stack our IBCs two high so at least half of them have a greater head.
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As Steve Keen puts it: “Capital without energy is a statue; labour without energy is a corpse.” Economics ignores this which is why economics is broken.

adam2 · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:13 am Post subject:

The IBCs were cheap and available quickly, they stand on any reasonably firm and level surface. Larger tanks may need foundations or supports.
Empty IBCs can be handled by one person.

The provision of extra water storage was considered to be very urgent due to the current severe wild fire risk.
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"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

adam2 · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:51 pm Post subject:

vtsnowedin · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 1:16 am Post subject:

What is the legal width of a truck (fire or other) in the UK? in the US it is eight feet not counting the mirrors . A long truck on a very sharp curve might need some more but nothing should need twelve feet unless it is a construction crane or prefabbed housing unit.

kenneal - lagger · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:27 am Post subject:

The minimum entrance width in the UK for a planning application for a house is 3.6m and in some cases a turning head will be required as well so that a fire engine can easily get in and refuse wagons can get in and out in a forward direction.

They are both standard width vehicles of about 2.4m but they want the width initially so that if the width narrows over time the vehicles can still get in and out, I suppose.
_________________
As Steve Keen puts it: “Capital without energy is a statue; labour without energy is a corpse.” Economics ignores this which is why economics is broken.