Neighbor almost burnt down house disposing ashes

[Rhone]

He emptied his coals & ashes from his wood stove into a plastic 5 gallon bucket, and placed that bucket in his garage next to some cans of chemicals (probably paint, polyurethane, maybe even gas, he just said chemicals). Coals burned through the plastic bucket, ignited the chemicals and started the surrounding stuff, and he was lucky because it ignited just as he opened the door to go into his garage to leave for work. He said it wasn't even a minute for him to get an extinguisher, and the flames were nearly at the ceiling by the time he went to put them out. He has to replace one wall of his garage and said, I was there just as it started and put it out within minutes. Had I left one minute earlier, taken one minute longer to get the extinguisher, or come out one minute later I'd probably be homeless.

 

[Willhound]

That'll wake you up faster than a cup of Folgers!
Is this a close neighbour? I mean proximity, not friendly wise. Maybe you should get him a metal bucket, and maybe a new brain for Christmas, that way he won't be endangering your house next time too.

Happy to hear it turned out all right (sort of), but never should have happened in the first place. My 2 cents.

Willhound

 

[babalu87]

JEEZ
Plastic
AND next to chemicals in the garage
Should a IQ test be required for stove purchases?

I dont even put my METAL bucket on the wood deck OUTSIDE until it is left on the fire resistant rug OUTSIDE the door
Note the us of caps for OUTSIDE

 

[Roospike]

JEEZ
Plastic
AND next to chemicals in the garage
Should a IQ test be required for stove purchases?

A .............yes . Ha

 

[wg_bent]

Well, not sure who on this forum mentioned it (Elk?) but someone said that putting ashes in the garage is one of the leading causes of wood burning related fires. That post came out about 3 days after first firing my new stove, and I had put ashes in the garage, although in a metal bucket (Plastic bucket? What a dufus!!). That was the last time I did that. Now I put them out on the front walk. Nice solid slabs of blue stone.

I'd bet more than a few folks have set their decks on fire putting hot ash buckets on them too.

I do keep gas in my garage and lots of chemicals for wood working like alcohol, naptha, stain, etc... Best to keep ashes far away.

 

[pmac]

I'm amazed sometimes at how long a coal can stay hot in the ash pail. There will be times where I'll be dumping out a pail of ash back in a safe place in the yard, a day or two AFTER last putting something in it, and there will still be a couple glowing coals in there...

 

[webbie]

Well, not sure who on this forum mentioned it (Elk?) but someone said that putting ashes in the garage is one of the leading causes of wood burning related fires. That post came out about 3 days after first firing my new stove, and I had put ashes in the garage

I posted that warning here a few weeks ago. Too bad everyone either does not read the board or heed the advice. It's funny, the guy with the jotul knock off tells me his is as good, then we notice a giant crack down the side of the model being sold on eBay!

Same with all this stuff - REAL men know better....then know that ash can't still be hot...

WRONG....it's good to be paranoid when it comes to ashes and also to other stuff kept close to the stove.....newspaper especially concerns me.

 

[wg_bent]

I hear ya craig. This is no game. The point on the loading stoves thread regarding loading so logs can't roll out is another good one. Heat is really dangerous.

 

[elkimmeg]

Craig did your post end up in the Ash Can? hey what happened to Frank?
I do not know about others but there is an extinguisher in my garage.. I feel safer it is there, when welding.

Plastic bucket!! Mine goes from the metal bucket to the garden covered with snow. I do not need to buy lime as the ash rototilled in does the same acid nutralizing

 

[Willhound]

This brings up a point I've been pondering. The neighbour in this case didn't realize he still had some "hot ones", otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have done what he did, but how hot is too hot? Does anyone take any "cherries" out when they clean their ashes?

I sort of remember seeing this in a previous post about removing ashes, and I think some of you said you do remove embers that are still live? (assuming it is done safely of course) So, How hot is too hot?

The reason I am wondering is that I haven't let the Summit insert go out since I fired it up Tuesday night, and I'd like to take a few scoops out before the weekend, but I don't want to let it go out for too long. I tried the other day and after about 6 hours there were still some pretty hot coals in there. I just couldn't stand it anymore, so I gave in and fired some splits in and it came right back to life. I'm thinking that it would take at least 24 hours to get them down to grey, and although I have the gas heat to fall back on, I'd prefer not to, just on principle.

Willhound

 

[DavidV]

coals can last a week easy. Doesn't seem like they would, but they do. Using my burn barrel in the summer time, I've had the ashes remain hot for a week.

 

[Willhound]

This brings up a point I've been pondering. The neighbour in this case didn't realize he still had some "hot ones", otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have done what he did, but how hot is too hot? Does anyone take any "cherries" out when they clean their ashes?

I sort of remember seeing this in a previous post about removing ashes, and I think some of you said you do remove embers that are still live? (assuming it is done safely of course) So, How hot is too hot?

Please excuse my absolutely lazy A** posting above. I found the other thread, and it's obvious that if you're depending on the unit for heat, you gotta do it hot. Just do it right. Buh bye.

 

[wahsega]

Reminds me of when I lived in Vermont. At least once a year you'd hear in the news of somebody from New York City putting ashes from the fireplace of the condo they were renting in a bag and putting on the back porch or somewhere causing a fire!

 

[CoalHog]

Our coals go from the ash bin to a 45 gallon barrel with a lid outside. Takes a couple months to fill, then its to the dump with them. Just make sure you stand up wind when you dump that puppy. I like steel when it comes to anything to do with our stove. With burning Coal, when you shake the grates you sometimes get little bits of burning coal in the ash. That can stay HOT for a looooong time. Lot of people have lost everything over "cold" ash. :gulp:

 

[Xena]

Never ceases to amaze me how many stupid people there are on this earth
but I suppose it's a sure fire way (pun intended) to cleanse the gene pool.

 

[Roospike]

**** OUR LOCAL NEWS****Front page ----> "News


Beatrice firefighters arrived shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday to put out a fire at 1728 N. 12th St. The fire caused extensive damage to the home of Lawrence and Norma Lambert. Dollar loss was estimated at $75,000. Photo by Mike Goodwin/Daily Sun staff
Ashes cause house fire


By Mike Goodwin/Daily Sun staff writer
Friday, December 16, 2005 10:12 AM CST

A fire that did extensive damage to a Beatrice home Thursday afternoon apparently started when discarded ash re-ignited.

No one was injured in the fire at 1728 N. 12th St., which started shortly before 3 p.m. Seventeen firefighters responded to the call to find the back porch of the house in flames.

“The back porch area was on fire when we got here, and it got up in the soffits and got through the attic,” Firefighter Kevin Weakland said. “Once it spread through the attic it destroyed quite a bit.”

Weakland said smoke damage was extensive throughout the first floor of the house. Damage was estimated at $75,000. Ray Nance, public information officer with the Nebraska Fire Marshal's Office, said there was also some heat damage to a neighbor's home.

The house is owned by Lawrence and Norma Lambert. Mrs. Lambert was home at the time of the fire and called 911.

An investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office concluded that the fire started when ash re-ignited, according to Nance. The ash had been cleaned out of a fireplace earlier in the day and placed in a plastic bag, which was put into a cardboard container, Nance said. A neighbor who saw the fire from the outside helped direct investigators to that conclusion, Nance said.

Nance said ash should always be placed in a metal or noncombustible container and placed outside the home away from areas that could catch on fire.

Nance also said it was important that people remember during the winter heating season to make sure they had working smoke detectors. Detectors should be checked weekly, with batteries replaced twice a year and the detector itself replaced every 10 years, he said.

 

[Roospike]

Yeah ...... You read it right on what started the fire . "the fire started when ash re-ignited, according to Nance. The ash had been cleaned out of a fireplace earlier in the day and placed in a plastic bag, which was put into a cardboard container" Com'mon people , this is just unreal what people are thinking.