Verandah fire

[hrpearce]

Glad you saved the house Mike, lucky you came home in time.
Our house lost a wall once years ago when it was rented out. Some mortar fell out of the open fire bricks and caught the wall. We were lucky it had been reining all day and the house was wet giving us time to put the fire out when we arrived after the phone call from the tenants. The hard part was mustering the fire brigade as they weren't used to getting call outs in winter.

[motto]

Originally Posted by hrpearce

The hard part was mustering the fire brigade as they weren't used to getting call outs in winter.

House fires through winter are not that unusual in Melbourne. They are mostly caused by poor management of heating appliances. Asphyxiation is another danger. Smoke alarms have saved many lives but 'brain fade' can overcome any built in safety device or system.
You were extremely fortunate Mike.

David

[lynx42]

G'day Mike, or should I say 'Lucky Boy'. Jill had a like episode whilst I was in hospital a few weeks ago. Not as bad or threatening to our home though. Being winter, Jill had the wood heater going at night. She put some firewood on it about 8.00pm and left it over night to warm the house. Next day at about 5.00pm she cleaned the ashes out of the heater and took the cold ash down to where we burn the garden refuge each year and dumped the ash near the heap. It rained that night and next morning she wondered where the smoke was coming from drifting past the house. Missing was one garden refuge heap and it was still raining. It shows that you cannot be too careful where fire is concerned. At least I won't have to burn that one before summer now.

I am glad that your home was ok and you did not suffer too badly.
On the TV, over the past few nights, they have been promoting early clean-up around the home as it looks like a bad fire season coming up this summer.

Regards Rick.