Fires in Maine???

[forest beekeeper]

It takes a lot of effort to save a foundation and chimney.

[maja]

Originally Posted by Zymer

Not to worry...Maine Fire Departments have historically had an excellent reputation for successfully saving nearly every foundation.

LOL! Good one! Must admit this one flew over my head the first time I read it!

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

...but it should be noted the FFers in most small Maine towns are volunteers. I was a Volunteer FF in town for 10 years and getting up some nights when it was -32º to fight a house fire was not fun, or tending to accidents on icy roads, or some of the other things we did.

Yes, they have a very difficult job. With people spread out so far it takes much longer to respond. Add to that the fact that the tendency for house fires may be greater in the Winter due to many people using woodstoves for heat and the weather can present problems in getting to the scene as well as combatting the fire.

My town has a volunteer FD, as do many of the surrounding towns, they are understaffed and underfunded. Recently there was a notice that alarms would go out to additional departments and all would respond in the hopes that they would have a better chance of getting more personnel and equipment to the scene.

The joke is really not a reflection on the efforts of the firemen.

(Only one time have I ever called the FD, and it was in a suburban town in MA, very well equipped and staffed. The fire started from an ember that blew out of the top of the stovepipe and settled on a small ledge, against the barnboard siding. The FD was less than a mile away and I had the fire out by the time they arrived, using the old-fasioned method of running up a ladder and dowsing the wall with water from a bucket. Unfortunately, these individuals decided that since they had been called out they were going to use their tools anyway...they did more damage than the fire did. )

I have read about automatic interior and exterior fire suppression systems and intend to install them, as well as a gravity fed hose system for manual use. I am also working on a design to inject Halon into the chimney in the event of a chimney fire. I had a chimney fire once, and happened to have a small quantity of Halon handy. It worked quite well...and there was none of the mess that would have resulted from using a chemical extinguisher, which I'm not entirely sure would have worked all that well.

(Note to self: Get more Halon!)

[BrokenTap]

Originally Posted by Zymer

Yes, they have a very difficult job. With people spread out so far it takes much longer to respond. Add to that the fact that the tendency for house fires may be greater in the Winter due to many people using woodstoves for heat and the weather can present problems in getting to the scene as well as combatting the fire.

My town has a volunteer FD, as do many of the surrounding towns, they are understaffed and underfunded. Recently there was a notice that alarms would go out to additional departments and all would respond in the hopes that they would have a better chance of getting more personnel and equipment to the scene.

The joke is really not a reflection on the efforts of the firemen.

(Only one time have I ever called the FD, and it was in a suburban town in MA, very well equipped and staffed. The fire started from an ember that blew out of the top of the stovepipe and settled on a small ledge, against the barnboard siding. The FD was less than a mile away and I had the fire out by the time they arrived, using the old-fasioned method of running up a ladder and dowsing the wall with water from a bucket. Unfortunately, these individuals decided that since they had been called out they were going to use their tools anyway...they did more damage than the fire did. )

I have read about automatic interior and exterior fire suppression systems and intend to install them, as well as a gravity fed hose system for manual use. I am also working on a design to inject Halon into the chimney in the event of a chimney fire. I had a chimney fire once, and happened to have a small quantity of Halon handy. It worked quite well...and there was none of the mess that would have resulted from using a chemical extinguisher, which I'm not entirely sure would have worked all that well.

(Note to self: Get more Halon!)

I thought Halon were outlawed now?

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

I thought Halon were outlawed now?

Although the there was an international agreement signed in 1987 known as the "Montreal Protocol" which was intended to "ban" Halon, there is no legal requirement to remove Halon systems, Halon systems may still be legally recharged and Halon is still available from recycling "banks". There is, however, a rather steep excise tax on newly manufactured Halon 1301 (bromotriflouromethane) and it would appear that there currently is no one producing it.

There are a number of alternatives also available including bromodiflouromethane and triflouromethane. Even if I use one of the alternatives, I'll probably still be likely to *call* it Halon.