Another tall building fire

Discussions about serious topics, for serious people
User avatar
JQH
After Pie
Posts: 2141
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:30 pm
Location: Sar Flandan

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by JQH » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:51 pm

One of the teachers at my last job used to do that demo.
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

Fintan O'Toole

P.J. Denyer
Stargoon
Posts: 143
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 4:36 pm

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by P.J. Denyer » Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:39 pm

shpalman wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:57 pm
OneOffDave wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:13 pm
Gfamily wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 11:05 am
There's a good new-ish podcast series by Tim Harford called Cautionary Tales in which the first episode is about how incidents can escalate because the wrong things are focused on at the wrong times and people assume things are how they should be rather than how they are.
There's CCTV of a deliberately set fire in an off licence and it's fascinating to watch the reaction of people as they come in and out of the shop just looking at the fire as if there's always a display on fire in that corner of the shop. The quality is a bit poor but it's interesting viewing.
Nice screensaver!
Is it sad that I haven't followed the link but I know exactly what it is?

kerrya1
Clardic Fug
Posts: 184
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:13 am

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by kerrya1 » Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:35 pm

rockdoctor wrote:
Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:46 pm
I learned a useful thing about house fires when I was a teenager. I was watching telly, mum was heating up fat to fry chips. The phone went and she went out to the hall to answer it (back in the days of wired landlines). Unfortunately she got caught up in a good natter and forgot the chip pan. Eventually I opened the door to the kitchen and found it filled with utterly opaque white gaseous fat smoke. I plunged in and turned off the gas stove and was opening windows when dad ran in. He saw how much smoke was still coming off the pan and decided to carry it outside.
As he stepped outside the back door it erupted in flames so he flung it away from him. Some boiling fat splashed on him as a result and he had to go to hospital for the burns.
Almost exactly the same thing happened to my father-in-law, he still has scars on his arms. My parents chip pan fire resulted in melting polystyrene ceiling tiles which dripped on my Dad's bald head, which is still scarred.

Growing up in Scotland I think everyone I knew had a chip pan fire at some point. As a result we only have oven chips and I don't deep fry anything.

User avatar
shpalman
Princess POW
Posts: 8241
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:53 pm
Location: One step beyond
Contact:

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by shpalman » Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:21 pm

having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
@shpalman@mastodon.me.uk

User avatar
Boustrophedon
Stummy Beige
Posts: 2860
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:58 pm
Location: Lincolnshire Wolds

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by Boustrophedon » Sun Aug 29, 2021 8:50 pm

JQH wrote:
Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:22 pm
rockdoctor wrote:
Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:46 pm
I learned a useful thing about house fires when I was a teenager. I was watching telly, mum was heating up fat to fry chips. The phone went and she went out to the hall to answer it (back in the days of wired landlines). Unfortunately she got caught up in a good natter and forgot the chip pan. Eventually I opened the door to the kitchen and found it filled with utterly opaque white gaseous fat smoke. I plunged in and turned off the gas stove and was opening windows when dad ran in. He saw how much smoke was still coming off the pan and decided to carry it outside.
As he stepped outside the back door it erupted in flames so he flung it away from him. Some boiling fat splashed on him as a result and he had to go to hospital for the burns.
I was pretty astonished how much energy the exploding fat held. So I am very cautious around hot flammable liquids and we microwave our chips now (like everyone else)
At least he didn't chuck water on it ...
There was a notorious fire, many years ago at an oil refinery in their wax slabbing plant: The wax was piped in molten, cast in molds, packaged in poly bags in cardboard boxes and stacked in the warehouse. The whole lot including the warehouse went up in flames.
The management strenuously argued that it was an oil fire and foam was needed. The fire brigade argued back, that wax was solid, foam was expensive and so used water. Plant management retreated.
The result was as to be expected, perhaps worse as the water also floated the burning melted wax and cardboard out of the warehouse to where the fire brigade were parked up. The fire brigade retreated.
In the morning half the site was impassible as it was coated in wax, all the services ran in covered trenches which were now filled with solid wax and all the drains were blocked so there was flooding.
Cleanup cost millions.
Hjulet snurrar men hamstern är död.

User avatar
shpalman
Princess POW
Posts: 8241
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:53 pm
Location: One step beyond
Contact:

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by shpalman » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:51 am

having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
@shpalman@mastodon.me.uk

User avatar
JQH
After Pie
Posts: 2141
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:30 pm
Location: Sar Flandan

Re: Another tall building fire

Post by JQH » Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:30 pm

They said the flames spread through the cladding on the façade, which was supposed to have been fire resistant, Corriere della Sera reported.
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

Fintan O'Toole

Post Reply