Genealogy Forum UK

Last night, while watching a late night film. my husband said, "can you hear something outside", I listened, but being a bit deaf could not hear anything. Looking towards the window I could see flashing lights. My hubby being very inquisitive went outside.There was two fire engines ,a smell of fire ,and alot of coming and going by the fire officers. Luckily it was a small chimney fire.Very quickly sorted ,and in less than a hour they were gone. This is the second fire we have had in the village The first fire was a thatched black and white house which took two years to rebuild. Very lucky no one was not killed it was so bad. So please all you folks with fires .Please be careful.

When I was a kid we moved into a new bungalow and the chimney there was very prone to catching fire. Dad used to like to hold a sheet of newspaper over the opening to make a slow fire "draw" better - not a clever idea when the paper catches fire and then gets pulled up the chimney

You don't want to live in our street.
My husband's old house had a fire almost seven years ago (we've then built a new house); a plastic factory at the end of the road has burnt twice; and at least two other houses have been on fire - having said that, it is a longish street with about 120 houses, including a thatched one (don't think that's been on fire though!).

It is hard to enjoy our summer when, like today, the temp is hitting 40 degrees and a Total Fire Ban has been declared.

Total Fire Bans mean that any fire lit in the open will incur at least a $10,000 fine if not jail. You can't even have a barbeque in your back yard unless it is electric and not gas.

We are hoping that fires do not break out and that we do not have another day like December 7th 2009 when 178 people died on what we call "Black Saturday".

Or the day I thought was even scarier which was Ash Wednesday on the 16th February 1983. 47 people died that day and it was raining burning leaves down onto our house for hours.

I assume the biggest danger in the UK during winter is the same as Australia. Poorly ventilated and faulty gas heaters causing carbon monoxide poisoning.

no the biggest killer is the cold and old folks not puting heating on

9 people a hr last winter they reckon ? up to 200 people a day in winter

next week wind chill factor suppose to take it to -15 to - 20 ?

so sod the bills turn up the heating

and keep an eye on any old folks in the street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4RTSvMa3HI

The problem with Chimney Fires: is that many of the older
tradional built houses had the floor and ceiling joists keyed
into the chimeybreast: consequently when the rendering on
the inside of the chimey flaked away due to the heat, the ends
of the joists are then exposed to fire thus smoldering until some
time later before bursting into flames...modern homes with chimneys
have 'trimmer' joists around them.

here folks it the possible outlook for the weather i follow bob on the consett site he pretty good at it


http://www.consett.org.uk/forum/viewtop ... &start=290

sparkstopper wrote:The problem with Chimney Fires: is that many of the older
tradional built houses had the floor and ceiling joists keyed
into the chimeybreast: consequently when the rendering on
the inside of the chimey flaked away due to the heat, the ends
of the joists are then exposed to fire thus smoldering until some
time later before bursting into flames...modern homes with chimneys
have 'trimmer' joists around them.

All chimneys in Denmark have to swept by a qualified chimney sweep by law, if the chimney is in need of repair the sweep will inform the house owner as well as the authorities. So even chimneys for boilers have to be swept.
The sweeps still wear traditional dress, which includes a top hat. In the larger towns and cities where older flats have wood burning stoves you can see the sweeps on the roof tops.
Most fires in Denmark are caused by electrical faults however. Although December being the exception, then it's candles and christmas decorations that are the worst culprit (ask my husband about that one!).

Christmas Tree fires used to be a real hazard till they enforced fire proof material laws on the manufacturers.

Took a walk around Langley yesterday to see the effects of the Alcolols Factory fire. Such a shame, lots of houses were boarded up and there were plastic front doors lying in gardens, burnt and twisted. There are massive silos in the back of the factory, all burned on the side. Asbestos is the latest fear.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/lo ... ers-336493