I just had a fire at my house. I was upstairs having a bath when I started to hear regular beeping from downstairs. At first I ignored it as the washing machine makes more or less the same noise when it finishes but then when it spread to upstairs I realised it was the smoke alarms. So I ran downstairs to find that a large wicker basket containing paper and kindling wood had caught fire, as had the paper next to it, probably as a result of an spark from the fireplace. The flames were about 2ft across by 6ft high and the bottom half of the house was filled with thick, choking smoke. Thankfully although the fire was near the door to the dining room and kitchen I was able to get past it so I could fetch the extinguisher from near the cooker. It wasn’t enough to put the fire out on its own but thankfully I have a bucket of soapy water near the back door which I use to rinse away the dog’s pee when he goes for a whizz out in the yard and that plus a refill finished it off. I’m incredibly lucky because another couple of minutes delay could well have resulted in the exposed beams catching fire, then the house as a whole. I probably would have been trapped upstairs and while I would have been able to escape through one of the rear windows the dog was locked in his crate in the dining room, only about 10ft from the seat of the fire and he would have been trapped. It doesn’t look like there’s any permanent damage. I don't feel too well now though, as my eyes are throbbing,I have a banging headache and feel a bit nauseous. I’m also bloody freezing as I’ve had to open all the windows to clear the smoke! The water I threw on the fire went into a socket and has tripped the circuit breaker so I have no wifi and the signal here isn’t strong enough to upload photos but when it dries out and starts working again I’ll post a pic. If you don’t have smoke alarms, please fit them tomorrow! The exposed beams directly above the fire.
Thank goodness things turned out the way they did. Glad that you are ok Thought about buying a lottery ticket?
Bloody Nora zhed Glad to see you are both safe I have smoke detectors up and downstairs Edit: checked them they are working
Wow, I'm glad you are alive, reasonably well and still have a house. Sounds like you might have some bad effects from smoke inhalation. Maybe a call to 111 is in order if it doesn't get better really soon. Don't know what else to say. Get someone to come over if you can.
Bloody hell -that's too close for comfort Zhed. Really glad this ended as well as it did and you and that puppy dog are OK. If you are in any doubt about your health call 111 to be sure. PS I just tested my smoke alarm and its working!
Well done Z, the right action at the right time definitely saved the day, the alternatives don't bear thinking about.
Make sure you re test the smoke detectors as well. The sensors may have been damaged or got a bit clogged. Good lucky escape that
Funny you mention that because I do seem to be very lucky when it comes to stuff like this. Just a few examples: I had a front wheel fall off my car at walking pace but only minutes after I'd been caning it. Likewise, I had total brake failure (in the same car), again at walking pace but only minutes after doing some fairly silly speeds. When filtering through a narrow gap between two lorries on the M4 while doing about 50 mph, my right handlebar clipped the side of one of them, I got a tank slapper and my right elbow went between the mudguard and the wheel of one of the lorries but by pure luck I stayed on the bike and didn't get my arm torn off. I had a bungee cord snap which caused the holdall attached to the pillion seat to get dragged into the gap between the underneath of the seat unit and the tyre, which resulted in it locking up. Again, it happened when I was only doing about 10mph in a straight line while braking for a give way line, but I'd just turned off national speed limit twisties which if it had happened then would have high-sided me to the Moon. Last year the end can fell off one of my bikes and because at that time it was fitted in more of less the same position as a Pani 1199, my rear wheel ran over it and I almost fell off. Again, this was only at walking pace and travelling in a straight line, but only minutes beforehand I had been doing 70 on a dual carriageway Just last month I was unlocking my door after coming back from walking the dog and people started posting pics of where a car had just run into the wall of the village church and then driven off. I had been at that very spot no more than a minute earlier and probably would have been killed if I'd still been there. That's just a selection.
You was lucky, looks like the door was open against the basket which seems to have helped keep the fire in one place.
Cat with 9 lives? Looks like you dodged another one there Zhed. Good job you weren't singing your head off in the shower.
My singing is so bad that my neighbours would have called the Police and so it still would have turned out ok.
Mate I was just being a smart arse and was referring to the way the top of the wall is corbelled out. Is that the right word? Anyhow, I also have been woken up by smoke alarms so well aware of their value now...in my case, wet timber placed on top of the fireplace to dry out, only it went a bit beyond drying out!
Holy moly @Zhed46 , you were lucky there. Hope you and family (inc dog) are safe and no lasting damage. Stay well.
Well done for dealing with it so efficiently and as others have said get checked out if you are still feeling ropey. Smoke inhalation is serious shit. Have you got a fireguard?
