fire preparation

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I think folks should be prepared to deal with fire problems. Be sure you know how to extinguish a chimney fire. Have a couple ABC fire extinguishers on hand. Know 1st aid for all range of burn trauma. If you live in the arid west having hand tools you can help cut fire line with and clear the ground with are handy. These tools are the pulasky and the mcloud (both useful gardening implements also) A.M. Leonard Co., Box 816, Piqua, Oh. 45356. It may behoove you to learn a bit about fire behavior (thermal convection, up/down slope winds, ect). If you have a gas powered weedeater, saving fuel and 2 cycle mix is an idea- this may be a real help to neighbors clearing around their structures. Any other thoughts on this topic? Also- having a barometer to help predict weather changes would be handy.

-- skipper clark (skipper@cncnet.com), June 03, 1998

Answers

Good point, Skipper. Every power outage of any size/duration results in a fire or two (or more) from knocked- over candles or careless use of space heaters. Be careful with any source of flame or high heat indoors or in windy and dry conditions outdoors. Kitchens have accidental fires often- that's one reason that in the old days kitchens were sometimes a separate building away from the 'main house' (the other being that, with no such thing as air conditioning, it kept the rest of the house cooler to cook elsewhere).

Be aware of the necessity for proper ventilation with alternative heat sources too- carbon monoxide can kill you just as dead as a fire.

I saw a thread on North's page regarding "snakes in the grass and no gas" (lawns growing out of control with no lawn mowers running). Keeping the vegetation down around your dwelling (unless it's a cave) is a good fire prevention tactic. A reel- type push mower (the old fashioned kind) is one idea. Back in the bad old good old days (in the deep south) my mother tells me they kept the 'lawn' hoed clean of all grass and swept. Pretty radical sounding these days but it's an idea.

(For those of you with snake phobias- as far as snakes are concerned just don't pussyfoot around when you're outside- unless you're on really soft ground snakes can feel the vibrations you make when you walk and will beat a hasty retreat before you get there. They're more scared of you most times than you are of them.)

Regards,

LPL

-- Lee P. Lapin (lplapin@hotmail.com), June 03, 1998.


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