Another boat burnt out

[tony collins]

According to my local paper, The Rugby Observer, three women have been made homeless after their narrowboat burnt out. It was moored at Stretton on the North Oxford Canal and the source of the fire seems to be a recently installed wood burning stove. All three women managed to get out of the boat when the blaze broke out at 4.40am last Friday. Apparently the Fire Chief said that the intensity of the flames was such that the brigade were unable to get near the boat. A combination of wooden furniture, walls, floor and ceiling all contributed to making the fire take hold so.

 

The women had only just moved to the area from Leicestershire and are now living in temporary accommodation. So sad when people lose not only their homes but all their possessions in one event.

 

The investigation is (was) still going on so no information yet how the stove caused the fire.

 

Tony

Edited March 16, 2006 by tony collins

[Rob@BSSOffice]

...The women had only just moved to the area from Leicestershire and are now living in temporary accommodation. So sad when people lose not only their homes but all their possessions in one event.

 

The investigation is (was) still going on so no information yet how the stove caused the fire.

Tony

 

We haven't had the full fire report from Warwickshire FRS yet, but the divisional officer has supplied this information.

 

The sole female occupant at the time was woken up by the sound of roaring and banging to discover intense flames shooting from the rear of log burner which then set light to nearby wood shelving and paneling, aided by accelerants in the form of cans of hairspray stored closeby.

 

Her escape route in one direction was blocked by the spread of the fire and her escape route in the other direction was obstructed by a bed, a bath, a dishwasher and a very heavy hatch, but she struggled through.

 

Fire can be caused by many things, a couple of weeks before there was a small fire aboard a boat caused by a very small portable electric heater overturning and the still hot appliance set light to nearby flammable materials. A fire on a craft in Chichester Marina in January was caused by an overheating de-humidifier.

 

There are probably thousands of stoves in use on boats working well with any potential risks being managed by sensible use e.g. not allowing curtains to catch on flue pipes, or by using the correct fuel, or by keeping the door closed when unattended so the contents cannot fall out onto flammable flooring.

 

The outstanding point for me in the fire officers report is that the young female occupant escaped with only superficial burns and smoke inhalation despite the difficulties of the escape route.

 

The first question we ask all boaters in our Avoiding Fire Afloat leaflet (free from the BSS Office), have you made your fire action plan? How easy would your escape be in the pitch dark of the blury, half-awake hours of the morning?

 

Rob@BSS Office

[DHutch]

The outstanding point for me in the fire officers report is that the young female occupant escaped with only superficial burns and smoke inhalation despite the difficulties of the escape route.

 

The first question we ask all boaters in our Avoiding Fire Afloat leaflet (free from the BSS Office), have you made your fire action plan? How easy would your escape be in the pitch dark of the blury, half-awake hours of the morning?

Indeed.

- Will losing a boat and all your possentions is a terrable thing, loss of life is far worse.

 

 

Daniel

[GRPCruiserman]

I worry about how flames were able to come from the rear of a wood burner.

 

We have a solid fuel stove on the boat which, once lit, we run on smokeless type coal which burns slowly and 'non-roary' but gets very hot.

 

I wonder if the stove was faulty, or if it was burning too hot, or what, and if I for one, or indeed all of us using stoves, could learn from this terrible trajedy.

 

Perhaps, Rob(BSS), you could advise us all when you find out as to what happened, if indeed you are allowed to, as I would be happier knowing that I am using my stove safely.

[Moley]

I worry about how flames were able to come from the rear of a wood burner.

 

I wonder if the stove was faulty, or if it was burning too hot, or what.

Or why it was burning fiercely at all, unattended, at 4.40 am.

Edited March 17, 2006 by Moley

[bottle]

I suspect someone forgot to shut it down for the night.

[Rob@BSSOffice]

Perhaps, Rob(BSS), you could advise us all when you find out as to what happened, if indeed you are allowed to, as I would be happier knowing that I am using my stove safely.

 

I will do what I can on this when allowed (lessons learnt from others etc.) just like the other examples I mentioned in passing which were all based on actual incidents in the past three years.

 

regards

Rob

[Keeping Up]

We were lucky enough to avoid a very similar crisis about 5 years ago. I had just lit the stove, and was waiting around to check that it was properly alight before joining my family in the pub. A few minutes later I was puzzled to notice that there was rather a lot of light in the cabin, and soon realised that it was coming from the back of the stove.

 

Our stove is a "Little Wenlock", which like many solid-fuel stoves is designed to have the flue connected to either the top or the back, with the unused opening being closed by a large round blanking plate. On ours the flue exits from the top, so the blanking plate is at the back. I had never even looked at this plate, after all it is impossible to see it without using a torch and a mirror. Anyway, it turns out that it was only attached by two very small screws (as supplied by the manufacturer) which had rusted through so that the plate had dropped off.

 

I'm sure that if I had left the fire unattended for just a little longer the flames would very soon have set light to something. Perhaps there is a lesson there (I learnt one and now check my blanking plate regularly). I was just lucky, these poor women weren't, they certainly have my sympathy (for what it's worth)

 

Allan

[Bones]

We were lucky enough to avoid a very similar crisis about 5 years ago. I had just lit the stove, and was waiting around to check that it was properly alight before joining my family in the pub. A few minutes later I was puzzled to notice that there was rather a lot of light in the cabin, and soon realised that it was coming from the back of the stove.

 

Our stove is a "Little Wenlock", which like many solid-fuel stoves is designed to have the flue connected to either the top or the back, with the unused opening being closed by a large round blanking plate. On ours the flue exits from the top, so the blanking plate is at the back. I had never even looked at this plate, after all it is impossible to see it without using a torch and a mirror. Anyway, it turns out that it was only attached by two very small screws (as supplied by the manufacturer) which had rusted through so that the plate had dropped off.

 

I'm sure that if I had left the fire unattended for just a little longer the flames would very soon have set light to something. Perhaps there is a lesson there (I learnt one and now check my blanking plate regularly). I was just lucky, these poor women weren't, they certainly have my sympathy (for what it's worth)

 

Allan

 

That, is scarey!!!! It just goes to show it could happen to any of us, and there is no reason to be complaicent (oh dear, can't spell that either!)

[DHutch]

That, is scarey!!!! It just goes to show it could happen to any of us.

Yeah!

- I dont suppose it was a Wenlock on this boat was it?

 

 

Daniel