Another Boat Fire

[Josher]

How very sad ...

 

All possessions lost in boat fire

 

 

Published on Thursday 7 April 2011 12:29 Northampton Chronicle

 

A NARROWboat owner has been left homeless after having everything he owned destroyed in a fire. Shaun Gibbs’ boat was moored at Weedon when it went up in flames during the early hours of yesterday morning. The 57ft boat was on the Grand Union Canal, near The Heart of England pub, just off the A45 in the village.

 

Mr Gibbs, 48, had lived on the boat for 10 years and was devastated after seeing it destroyed. He said: “I can’t understand how it happened. I wasn’t on the boat and am still alive which is the main thing. But my whole life has gone up in smoke, everything I own was on it. I’ve got insurance for the boat, but I haven’t got contents insurance. And even if I did I don’t think it would cover everything I’ve lost; my fishing gear alone was worth more than £5,000.

I was out having a drink when I got a call at about 1am. I came running down and got stopped by the fire brigade because there was still some gas on the back. I don’t know what I’m going to do now but I’ve got to keep my chin up. I’ll dust myself down and get on with it. It’s just lucky nobody was hurt.”

 

The fire service was alerted at around 1.20am and two crews from Daventry plus one from Long Buckby were dispatched, along with the Red Cross fire victim support unit. The blaze was believed to have originated in the boat’s wood burning stove.

[Guest]

That has been one hell of a serious fire looking at how the cabin has distorted - poor bloke...

[canaldrifter]

Tragic. But at least he's unbowed by it.

 

Possessions can be replaced. Lives can't.

 

Maybe it's time somebody started compiling statistics on boat fires caused by leaving solid fuel stoves lit and unattended. It seems to be the main cause of boat fires, arson being the next.

 

Tone

[GSer]

Its always sad to see that sort of almost total destruction of a boat, only the gas bottles survived by the look of it.

 

 

Is that not a dodgy place to keep gas bottles? They look as if the bottom of the gas bottle is below the waterline???

[Chertsey]

Its always sad to see that sort of almost total destruction of a boat, only the gas bottles survived by the look of it.

 

 

Is that not a dodgy place to keep gas bottles? They look as if the bottom of the gas bottle is below the waterline???

The waterline looks to be rather higher than it should be. None of the counter should be underwater like that. Possibly full of firemen's water?

[MaryP]

They look as if the bottom of the gas bottle is below the waterline???

 

I have a 'wet' gas locker as my boat is too small to fit gas bottles in above the waterline. The water in the gas locker stops any gas leak lying inside the locker and the locker has a vent at water level, and a hole under the water to keep the level the same as the canal.

 

I'm not saying that's the case here, but some boats are designed to have the bottles sitting in water.

[Timleech]

The waterline looks to be rather higher than it should be. None of the counter should be underwater like that. Possibly full of firemen's water?

 

Certainly.

 

Tim

[Keeping Up]

Maybe it's time somebody started compiling statistics on boat fires caused by leaving solid fuel stoves lit and unattended. It seems to be the main cause of boat fires, arson being the next.

 

Given that you can "prove" anything with statistics, an almost inevitable consequence would be the complete prohibition of solid fuel stoves on boats.

[sociable_hermit]

Is that not a dodgy place to keep gas bottles?

Well, given that they're standing intact at the end of the boat which didn't turn into a blazing inferno, melting the steel cabin, I reckon they're in a pretty good spot.

[canaldrifter]

Given that you can "prove" anything with statistics, an almost inevitable consequence would be the complete prohibition of solid fuel stoves on boats.

 

Some kind of outer fixable fireguard surrounding a fireproof base might be good. Not leaving a lit stove unattended might be even better.

 

Tone

[sociable_hermit]

Not leaving a lit stove unattended might be even better.

Nope.

 

Ensuring that you understand how your fire burns over long periods, by carefully observing it 'under test' while you ARE there, and experimenting with it, is enough to then set it up to be ok while you're away.

 

There are some common sense things which go with this - keep the bottom damper opening to a minimum, don't leave things drying on top of the stove, don't leave things hanging over it which could fall and catch fire, don't leave flammable items (books, furniture, clothes etc.) right next to it.

 

Flue thermometers are useful to judge how hot the stove really gets.

 

Banning people from leaving fires burning is a non-starter. Anyone daft enough not to grasp the basics of fire risk management as an aid to self-preservation is also unlikely to grasp the significance of a ban and obey it.

[churchward]

It is very sad to see but glad the owner is alive. We moored there ourselves just a couple of weeks ago.

 

Before we get too bent out of shape though about "Another boat fire" and "probably caused by the stove" consider how many houses around the country went up in flames on the same night? Leaving very hot heat sources unattended can be a problem but it doesn't mean that stoves are inherently dangerous and need to be banned just because they are on a boat. I suspect (although of course don't know) that if it was started around the stove it was because something combustible was left too near or touching it rather than the stove itself.

[daveyboi2050]

It is very sad to see but glad the owner is alive. We moored there ourselves just a couple of weeks ago.

 

Before we get too bent out of shape though about "Another boat fire" and "probably caused by the stove" consider how many houses around the country went up in flames on the same night? Leaving very hot heat sources unattended can be a problem but it doesn't mean that stoves are inherently dangerous and need to be banned just because they are on a boat. I suspect (although of course don't know) that if it was started around the stove it was because something combustible was left too near or touching it rather than the stove itself.

 

 

very very sad to see.

[canaldrifter]

 

 

Banning people from leaving fires burning is a non-starter.

 

Where did I mention any kind of ban?

 

Tone

[nbfiresprite]

That has been one hell of a serious fire looking at how the cabin has distorted - poor bloke...

 

 

The fire temp must have been around 1300 degrees C, For the steel to bend under its own weight.

 

You need a howing gale blowing down the cut to get the fire going with the vents closed nearly shut.

Even here in the Fens with door open in a howing gale (Of which we have many round here), The stove

has never gone over 400 degrees C. There was a case some years ago that My late Great Uncle looked in to on his patch (He was the CFIO for the Surrey Fire Service) where oil was poured down the chimmey of a caravan, The oil spread out of the stove over the carpert seting fire to everything it came in contact with. The owner was inside a sleep at the

time.

 

The poor boat owner may have got on the wrong side of the local 'never do wells' who may have torched the boat for what they see as fun. Most of us have had our mooring lines cut, windows broken and other things at one time or other.

 

 

Firesprite

Edited April 9, 2011 by nbfiresprite

[sociable_hermit]

Where did I mention any kind of ban?

 

Tone

You haven't, explicitly. But if you continue to state that the only way to prevent boat fires is never to leave a stove unattended, you know what the H&S fall out would be.

[jonk]

Are my eyes deceiving me or is the solid fuel chimney still intact? If it is then perhaps the fire was started elsewhere, perhaps a gas leak set off by the fire? Having seen the effects of a gas fire reducing a brick house to an ashen shell within 30 mins I tend to suspect gas to be the culprit since it was a very hot fire on the boat. It will be interesting to hear the conclusions given if/when they are published.

 

John

[david and julie]

Very sad.

 

The fire temp must have been around 1300 degrees C, For the steel to bend under its own weight.

 

I've not got a clue what happened but can't help but wonder if the roof (at the front of the boat)was also full of logs - perhaps the extra weight and heat of burning logs could have caused the severe buckling?

[canaldrifter]

You haven't, explicitly. But if you continue to state that the only way to prevent boat fires is never to leave a stove unattended, you know what the H&S fall out would be.

 

I think you should take a course in reading what is actually said instead of knee-jerk reacting to what you think was said.

 

"Some kind of outer fixable fireguard surrounding a fireproof base might be good. Not leaving a lit stove unattended might be even better." is not stating that 'the only way to prevent boat fires is never to leave a stove unattanded.'

 

Tone

[nbfiresprite]

Are my eyes deceiving me or is the solid fuel chimney still intact? If it is then perhaps the fire was started elsewhere, perhaps a gas leak set off by the fire? Having seen the effects of a gas fire reducing a brick house to an ashen shell within 30 mins I tend to suspect gas to be the culprit since it was a very hot fire on the boat. It will be interesting to hear the conclusions given if/when they are published.

 

John

The thing about a gas fire in house is that it has a unlimited supply of fuel from the Gas main until it is shut off.

On a boat it is limited, And that the gas reg would shut off the supply if the flow was too great.

 

Firesprite

[jonk]

The thing about a gas fire in house is that it has a unlimited supply of fuel from the Gas main until it is shut off.

On a boat it is limited, And that the gas reg would shut off the supply if the flow was too great.

 

Firesprite

 

The house that I was thinking of was destroyed by a gas cylinder. The owner tripped while carrying a replacement cylinder into the lounge, the cylinder rolled across the room, hit something hard and it's 'tap' was knocked off, or the cylinder cracked - the gas ignited from the fire that was already burning. The force of the explosion hurled him out of the window and the cylinder acted as a flame-thrower setting everything in range aflame. The brick-built house was reduced to just the walls in under 30 minutes! The owner, who lived 2 doors from me, had recently renovated the house and he was preparing for their housewarming party. While this could not have been the case on the boat, it could have been gas leaking and accumulating until the level reached a level where it ignited - the result would have been devastating. If there had been a working gas alarm/autocutoff device then presumably this could not happen? I have a great deal of respect for the power of gas!

 

John

[Tiggers]

Im moored up just round the corner from this boat, and since I have been there I have had quite a few problems with what I presume is pesky kids. They have all been fairly harmless, such as untying the boats, and throwing one of my chairs that I foolishly left on the front of the boat in the cut. I sincerely hope that their shenanagans have stopped at just untying boats....

 

My heart goes out to the man though, you never really contemplate something like this happening, especially to that extent.

[jonk]

Im moored up just round the corner from this boat, and since I have been there I have had quite a few problems with what I presume is pesky kids. They have all been fairly harmless, such as untying the boats, and throwing one of my chairs that I foolishly left on the front of the boat in the cut. I sincerely hope that their shenanagans have stopped at just untying boats....

 

My heart goes out to the man though, you never really contemplate something like this happening, especially to that extent.

 

Indeed! I'm sure that we are all sorry for him - it must have been heartbreaking to see your home and possessions destroyed like that. I hope that it wasn't kids though.

 

John

[dontpanic]

So sad and really shocking - poor man.

[MtB]

The thing about a gas fire in house is that it has a unlimited supply of fuel from the Gas main until it is shut off.

On a boat it is limited, And that the gas reg would shut off the supply if the flow was too great.

 

Firesprite

 

That's a new one on me! AFAIK if you break a gas pipe on a boat all the gas will come rushing out as fast as it can until the bottle is exhausted.

 

There is certainly such a device on household bulk storage tanks that shuts the gas off if the pressure drops below a certain value but these are not generally fitted on boats. They protect against catastrophic failure of a gas pipe but not minor leaks. Their main purpose though is to prevent gas appliances being used at below design pressure and scavenging the remains of the gas from a tank once it has run out of 'gas' in the liquid phase.

 

Mike