The dangers of hot ash <shudder>

[ditchcrawler]

Firefighters I have spoken to have assured me they will get THROUGH badly parked cars if need be.

That is what they have told me in a cul de sac in Lowestoft and the police would follow them booking the cars for obstruction. They didn't elaborate how they would get through but assured me they would.

[Graham Davis]

Firefighters I have spoken to have assured me they will get THROUGH badly parked cars if need be.

 

They do, and they rarely get insurance claims against them, either!

[Pykebird]

Well done lady muck, glad there are so decent people around. I was surprised when my fire blocked up and smoke filled the boat. All 5 of my alarms (don't ask) went off, the dogs were outside howling. I opened all my Windows and hatches and was running around on the roof with a torch and a broom!

Needless to say, the wa*kers on the boat next to me, looked out of their crotch cover ,moaned at the noise I was making and went back inside.

[Loafer]

Well done lady muck, glad there are so decent people around. I was surprised when my fire blocked up and smoke filled the boat. All 5 of my alarms (don't ask) went off, the dogs were outside howling. I opened all my Windows and hatches and was running around on the roof with a torch and a broom!

Needless to say, the wa*kers on the boat next to me, looked out of their crotch cover ,moaned at the noise I was making and went back inside.

 

What caused your fire to block up?

[David Mack]

Firefighters I have spoken to have assured me they will get THROUGH badly parked cars if need be.

 

Some years ago a fire engine on a non-emergency call managed to put a dent in my wife's car, properly parked in a marked parking space. Their insurers ended up paying for the damage to be repaired.

[nb Innisfree]

Trouble with cars blocking access is the time it can take moving them, ramming them may or may not work, it could delay even more.

[Jerra]

their crotch cover

Is that similar to a codpiece?

[sharpness]

We used to have a similar problem 40 odd years ago with launching the RNLI lifeboat at Ilfracombe where the boathouse was on the pier & the slipway 400 yards away & the boat was towed round with a big Case tractor. Badly parked cars were easily dealt with by four blokes, one on each corner bouncing it out of the way.

 

Steve

[Lady Muck]

We used to have a similar problem 40 odd years ago with launching the RNLI lifeboat at Ilfracombe where the boathouse was on the pier & the slipway 400 yards away & the boat was towed round with a big Case tractor. Badly parked cars were easily dealt with by four blokes, one on each corner bouncing it out of the way.Steve

Its transits and camper vans here, some look dumped to me, Lee Valley sent contractors to paint double yellows and they moved the cars no problem, using straps to lift them, but not the vans. Ive been in touch with CRT today about the blocked access as they were supposed to tow the vans by now.

Elsan is still blocked, to the person who asked what people are doing well there are now several plastic boxes, buckets and containers full of sewage. It stinks.

We are using the public loos, at least we have them!

[Sir Nibble]

Its transits and camper vans here, some look dumped to me, Lee Valley sent contractors to paint double yellows and they moved the cars no problem, using straps to lift them, but not the vans. Ive been in touch with CRT today about the blocked access as they were supposed to tow the vans by now.

Elsan is still blocked, to the person who asked what people are doing well there are now several plastic boxes, buckets and containers full of sewage. It stinks.

We are using the public loos, at least we have them!

Public health issue. Call the council.

[blackrose]

Oh what a shock we have had here tonight! Spent the afternoon/ evening doing my washing in my twin tub, onboard, which meant refilling up with water. As it takes a whole four hours to fill up here because the water pressure is so bad, it was around 5.30pm and dark, when the tank flexed (because it was full) and I went outside to get the hose in.

Then I heard the unmistakable sound of a C0 alarm. Could see smoke, but from several chimneys down the pontoons,, but it wasn't until I walked down there, to see which boat had the alarm going off that I saw smoke pouring out of the windows, mushroom vents and chimney of one boat.

Shouted for help and my partner and another neighbour came out. My partner grabbed a torch and extinguishers from our boat, he smashed open the doors and the boat was orange bright flames in the cabin..

He and our neighbour managed to put the flames out. Isolated batteries, pulled mains plugs out, switched off gas, three more extinguishers and several buckets of water later and it was completely out. I had been poised to dial 999 but had we waited and done nothing, we reckon we'd have lost the boat.

It looked so close to going up, properly, never seen anything like it. We've gone back several times to check and some things inside are untouched, some things totally melted, destroyed.

My neighbour had emptied hot ash into a bag on the way out of the boat and forgotten to take it. It was on the wooden floor. We reckon it had taken a whole five hours to set the boat alight. So, take it from our experience, never, ever engineer a situation where hot ash is temporarily on the boat. Take it outside, immediately. Treat hot ash with respect, it should be in a lidded metal bucket, kept outside, away from vents and allowed to fully cool.

Don't ever ignore an annoying alarm. A few months back, a friend heard the same type of alarm when cycling and ended up pulling a young girl out of a boat, unconscious. She could have died. Always go and look for it, try to find where it is.

Could have been far, far worse. Boat is badly fire damaged in the bow cabin, lots of clearing up to do, but the main thing is our neighbour is ok. I can't tell you the awful feeling you get when you see the flames and you think they might be inside.

Well done for putting the fire out and saving the boat. I'm not sure I understand the relevance of all that detail about your washing and how long it takes to fill your water tank? Context I guess.

 

The other thing is, who puts hot ash into a bag onboard their boat? What sort of bag? Wouldn't hot ash burn straight though a bag? I suppose it wasn't that hot, but it still seems like an odd thing to do. Producing a cloud of ash inside a boat as its tipped into a bag isn't something I think I'd want to do. I take mine straight outside. Also I'm still not quite sure if your neighbour was still on the boat at the time? At first I assumed not, but then you said that they were ok. If you saved your neighbour's life then that's what we should be congratulating you for - sod the boat!

Edited January 5, 2016 by blackrose

[Athy]

Lady M should be adding a medal to her noble title.

 

Hot ashes are fire. Would you put fire in a plastic bag?

[RLWP]

Public health issue. Call the council.

Wot he said

 

Richard

[Lady Muck]

Public health issue. Call the council.

They have been! The truck came and pumped out, phew! It does sound as if, over the holidays, because they weren't pumped out as regularly, all the septic tanks got over full. Special award goes to the idiot who has emptied their cassette into an open, plastic crate. Next bit of rain we get. On the phone to report, again. Sigh.

Well done for putting the fire out and saving the boat. I'm not sure I understand the relevance of all that detail about your washing and how long it takes to fill your water tank? Context I guess.

The other thing is, who puts hot ash into a bag onboard their boat? What sort of bag? Wouldn't hot ash burn straight though a bag? I suppose it wasn't that hot, but it still seems like an odd thing to do. Producing a cloud of ash inside a boat as its tipped into a bag isn't something I think I'd want to do. I take mine straight outside. Also I'm still not quite sure if your neighbour was still on the boat at the time? At first I assumed not, but then you said that they were ok. If you saved your neighbour's life then that's what we should be congratulating you for - sod the boat!

The detail was me wibbling on, if I hadn't gone outside and heard the alarm we'd have lost the boat as the boaters near it were ignoring the alarm.

When I explained what happened to other neighbours my other neighbour goes, 'oh I did that as well.' Can't believe it.

We've always gone right outside with the ashpan. I usually keep my ashbucket on the bankside.

[cuthound]

When we had a cold fired stove, we used a "Tippy". You put the ash pan into the Tippy, close the lid and carry the ash out. The bottom of the Tippy is a couple of inches from the end of it, so if it is placed on the floor of the boat, the hot ash is held away from the floor.

 

Excellent bit of kit.

[Pykebird]

What caused your fire to block up?

As far as I could see, just soot from burning seasoned logs , but we have had loads of rain, so it got packed together. Never happened since.

[ditchcrawler]

When we had a cold fired stove, we used a "Tippy". You put the ash pan into the Tippy, close the lid and carry the ash out. The bottom of the Tippy is a couple of inches from the end of it, so if it is placed on the floor of the boat, the hot ash is held away from the floor.

 

Excellent bit of kit.

But not CO tight

[nb Innisfree]

But not CO tight

If we left our Tippy ash lid open with hot ashes in the CO alarm would sound, but not if the lid was closed.

[cuthound]

If we left our Tippy ash lid open with hot ashes in the CO alarm would sound, but not if the lid was closed.

Likewise. The point I was trying to make is that you can put it on a wooden floor with hot ash in it and it will not set fire to the floor. It also stops ash from flying everywhere as you can just slide the full ash pan into it and take the whole thing outside before emptying the ash.

 

Edited to remove several letters pretending to be spaces

Edited January 6, 2016 by cuthound

[ditchcrawler]

Likewise. The point I was trying to make is that you can putvitvon acwooden floor with hot ash in it and it will notvset fire to the floor. It also stops ash from flying everywhere as you can just slide the full ash pan into it and take the whole thing outside before emptying the ash.

I have never used one but they do look very good

[Loafer]

I have never used one but they do look very good

 

So does my missus but she's useless at holding hot ash for any length of time.

[pete harrison]

Hot ashes are fire. Would you put fire in a plastic bag?

When I worked on the boats hot ashes were usually disposed of very safely - in the canal.

 

British Waterways Board lock keepers often used ashes from their house fires to seal leaking gates at the end of their working day, and several wooden boats were kept afloat by tipping ashes near weeping seems.

 

How things have changed, and not always for the better

[Sir Nibble]

Filling puddles in the towpath.

[Phoenix_V]

Filling puddles in the towpath.

smokeless coal ash just doesnt do it

[BWM]

Excellent heroic work. Well done to you all.

As an aside can someone explain to me how it is even possible to block one elsan, never mind every one in London.

They are fairly simple and easy to work.

I have even watched boats using self pump out kits without experiencing problems.

Just what do you have to do to block one !

 

Sorry, but it's a minor irritation.

Rog

. I visited the one in Cowley this morning, only to find that the previous user had not only left it in a mess, they discarded the latex gloves into the elsan (retrieved this time). I'm sure this behaviour can't help.