Fatality on the K&A

[Tuscan]

There was a fire on a boat based on the K&A near Bradford on Avon in the early hours of today. unfortunately I understand this led to a fatality. Please take this opportunity to check your smoke alarm and check that you have 2 means of exit.

[RLWP]

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/14194119.Canal_barge_ablaze_in_Bradford_on_Avon/?ref=rss

 

 

Richard

[Loafer]

There was a fire on a boat based on the K&A near Bradford on Avon in the early hours of today. unfortunately I understand this led to a fatality. Please take this opportunity to check your smoke alarm and check that you have 2 means of exit.

 

And sleep near to one of them!

 

ETA: Sorry for the boater, though. Especially his family.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Loafer

[bigcol]

http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/14194119.Canal_barge_ablaze_in_Bradford_on_Avon/?ref=fbshr

 

 

Very Sad.

 

 

Checked our alarms

[Bee]

Is there a common cause in boat fires? I am thinking hot chimney catching ceiling alight or stove too close to ply lining or even logs stacked around stove. I doubt if 10 fires would have 10 different causes. I dislike legislation but fire is right at the top of things to avoid and if this needs rules then so be it. I have to say I favour half a cylinder of stainless steel 4 inches or so from any stove then a couple of inches from any wall up to the height of the thing.

[MtB]

Is there a common cause in boat fires? I am thinking hot chimney catching ceiling alight or stove too close to ply lining or even logs stacked around stove. I doubt if 10 fires would have 10 different causes. I dislike legislation but fire is right at the top of things to avoid and if this needs rules then so be it. I have to say I favour half a cylinder of stainless steel 4 inches or so from any stove then a couple of inches from any wall up to the height of the thing.

 

 

I'd guess it is almost always the stove but Rob@BSSoffice might have stats to illuminate us.

 

I think it's things the idiot using the stove does that present the main risk. I for example, am inclined to hang wet clothes, gloves etc on the fiddle rail attached to the ceiling above mine to dry them out. Sometimes they are touching the flue. It's easy to leave the air control on the Boatman wide open too (trying to get the damned thing going) then doze off on the sofa once it does.

 

There is also an old thread on here where someone went out leaving the ashpan door open on their Squirrel. I expect it was glowing red for an hour or two before running out of fuel...

[Loafer]

 

 

I'd guess it is almost always the stove but Rob@BSSoffice might have stats to illuminate us.

 

I think it's things the idiot using the stove does that present the main risk. I for example, am inclined to hang wet clothes, gloves etc on the fiddle rail attached to the ceiling above mine to dry them out. Sometimes they are touching the flue. It's easy to leave the air control on the Boatman wide open too (trying to get the damned thing going) then doze off on the sofa once it does.

 

There is also an old thread on here where someone went out leaving the ashpan door open on their Squirrel. I expect it was glowing red for an hour or two before running out of fuel...

 

Now that is completely avoidable. That person had removed a little doo-dad from the bottom door, which is supposed to prevent the idiot from opening the bottom door independently of the main door.

 

I've done it too, but we have utter sober and awake moments whenever we open that bottom door on its own!

Edited January 10, 2016 by Loafer

[Sea Dog]

The photos do seem to show the worst of the damage to be forward, where the chimney is. Sadly, you sort of have to hope that there's an element of something not being done sensibly in incidents like this.

[MtB]

The photos do seem to show the worst of the damage to be forward, where the chimney is. Sadly, you sort of have to hope that there's an element of something not being done sensibly in incidents like this.

 

Yes. I have strong interest in analysing how accidents of any type happen. I've been fiercely criticised for it on here but in my opinion, getting a clear understanding how each 'accident' came about is an excellent way of grasping how not to suffer the same fate oneself.

[Southern Star]

 

Now that is completely avoidable. That person had removed a little doo-dad from the bottom door, which is supposed to prevent the idiot from opening the bottom door independently of the main door.

 

I'm a bit puzzled by this, I would have thought it was necessary to open the bottom door independently of the main door, to draw the fire?

[MtB]

I'm a bit puzzled by this, I would have thought it was necessary to open the bottom door independently of the main door, to draw the fire?

 

 

True. But in the interests of 'safety', new Squirrels have a device to stop you doing that.

[Loafer]

You can open the bottom door just 'off the latch' with the doodad in place. Then it draws ok. But you can't swing it wide open, unless you remove the offending doodad.

 

They're not new, our stove is about 6 yrs old and it has one. We've removed it, but we still treat it like a sleeping tiger!

[Southern Star]

 

They're not new, our stove is about 6 yrs old and it has one. We've removed it, but we still treat it like a sleeping tiger!

Yes, I'm acutely aware that the multifuel stove is the most dangerous thing on my boat, I won't ever leave the boat while it is burning brightly, not even for five minutes to go to the shop.

 

Putting my CWDF CSI hat on, I'm guessing most of these incidents occur because wood or other flammable materials have been kept too close to the stove?

[Loafer]

Yes, I'm acutely aware that the multifuel stove is the most dangerous thing on my boat, I won't ever leave the boat while it is burning brightly, not even for five minutes to go to the shop.

 

Putting my CWDF CSI hat on, I'm guessing most of these incidents occur because wood or other flammable materials have been kept too close to the stove?

 

Yep. Or vice-versa.

[b0atman]

All this is guesswork it could have been a cigarette ? are some bods like BSS or CRT collating the fire reports nationwide so that we can learn ?

[Arthur Marshall]

I hope not. All that would happen is that multifuel stoves would be banned as the simplest solution.

[Dave_P]

 

 

I'd guess it is almost always the stove but Rob@BSSoffice might have stats to illuminate us.

 

I think it's things the idiot using the stove does that present the main risk. I for example, am inclined to hang wet clothes, gloves etc on the fiddle rail attached to the ceiling above mine to dry them out. Sometimes they are touching the flue. It's easy to leave the air control on the Boatman wide open too (trying to get the damned thing going) then doze off on the sofa once it does.

 

There is also an old thread on here where someone went out leaving the ashpan door open on their Squirrel. I expect it was glowing red for an hour or two before running out of fuel...

When I looked at this as part of my post-grad research in 2012, out of 91 people, 6 had had a fire. Of those, 5 were related to solid fuel stove incidents and one was caused by an electrical fault. It must be said that the question was asked with respect to the primary heating source. The vast majority had solid fuel as their primary source, so, in my small study, there was no statistical significance to the number of stove related fires.

 

In other words, most fires were caused by stoves, but most boats are heated by stoves, so nothing is proved.

 

 

Edited to add:

 

Here are some of the written responses I received:

 

• “In my first month, set fire to a towel hanging behind the stove.”
• “Spark from exhaust lodged in wooden gunwale and smouldered for several hours before igniting and burning out engine room.”
• “Pyrolisis of a fire onto its wooden base.”
• “Never an accidental fire however I have many scorch marks on my carpet from coal leaping out when tending the fire.”
• “Ignited paper next to hob.”
• “Boiling kettle, forgot about it. Boiled dry. Wood panel behind hob caught fire.”
• “My wood burner was not fixed to the ground and moved, touching the back wall. It caught fire! Thankfully i got back home in time.”

Edited January 10, 2016 by Dave_P

[ROBDEN]

 

 

True. But in the interests of 'safety', new Squirrels have a device to stop you doing that.

The trouble with this device fitted, is that when removing the ash-pan, one has to open both doors to get it out

and if you've just put on some coal (noticed it's not drawing) then the smoke starts get into the boat and sets off alarms.

 

Rob....

[MtB]

The trouble with this device fitted, is that when removing the ash-pan, one has to open both doors to get it out

and if you've just put on some coal (noticed it's not drawing) then the smoke starts get into the boat and sets off alarms.

 

Rob....

 

 

I get exactly the same problem with my Boatman and it's one-piece single door.

 

Even worse, the Boatman has no riddle so I have to rake the ash down with a poker with the door open, so clouds of ash billow out into the boat making a right mess everywhere. This is the biggest reason I'm planning to replace the Boatman with another Squirrel.

[mrsmelly]

The silly little addition to the squirrell is very recent and certainly within the last ten years maximum so not been around long. They also bung a load of washers at the back of the bottom spinwheel to limit its opening size and a hand shaped extra baffle under the above baffle plate at the stove flue. All combined ruin the squirrell but are removed when new in less than five minutes I have done three up to date, you then have again a proper useable for the last god knows how many years squirrell.

These additions are not needed unless Mr Darwen come into play.

 

Tim

[Loafer]

The silly little addition to the squirrell is very recent and certainly within the last ten years maximum so not been around long. They also bung a load of washers at the back of the bottom spinwheel to limit its opening size and a hand shaped extra baffle under the above baffle plate at the stove flue. All combined ruin the squirrell but are removed when new in less than five minutes I have done three up to date, you then have again a proper useable for the last god knows how many years squirrell.

These additions are not needed unless Mr Darwen come into play.

 

Tim

 

Agreed. All removed on ours, now a top performer and switch offable with both vents closed.

[MtB]

So where are the team buying all their Squirrels these days?

 

Is Midland Chandlers on a Freaky Friday the best deal?

[mrsmelly]

So where are the team buying all their Squirrels these days?

 

Is Midland Chandlers on a Freaky Friday the best deal?

 

Probably if you are not in a hurry. Best deal I got last year was from Limekiln to include the fitting kit etc. Sometimes very ocasionaly appear of fleabay though.

 

Tim

[raymondh]

Mine came from

http://www.logburningstoves.co.uk/morso-squirrel-1410/p43

Cheaper than MC even with the FF discount

However I have no idea re carriage as we were only 20 miles away from them

(its Kings Lock Chandlers stove shop) so delivery was free

They do state they will beat not match any genuine quote?

R.

[Loafer]

Mine came from

http://www.logburningstoves.co.uk/morso-squirrel-1410/p43

Cheaper than MC even with the FF discount

However I have no idea re carriage as we were only 20 miles away from them

(its Kings Lock Chandlers stove shop) so delivery was free

They do state they will beat not match any genuine quote?

R.

 

Yes, they do! (In answer to your question!)