Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 We went out early this morning (9am!) to hit Bluewater. After a fun packed shopping trip there we headed home and I wanted to stop at Primark to get something to wear to a fancy dress party on Sunday (50's theme - all that stuff is so fashionable atm too!). So we stopped at Lakeside, I hit Primark and Mum took James downstairs to where a kiddie event was happening, then I sat down there with him for about 1/2 hour whilst he took part in some "events (I'll post more about those later). Then we headed home, we got in at about 20 past 5. I walked in the front door to find the house full of smoke!!!! I could see throught the glass in the hall that it was coming from in front of my sideboard - I rushed round there to find the ashes bucket (plastic) - melted through the bottom half full of red hot ashes!!!! Mum emptied my fire out this morning and left the bucket in front of it. The cleaner had been, she must have picked it up and moved it but not got it as far as the back doorstep. There was obviously no indication when she was here that there were hot ashes in there. Imagine if we had gone out for an even longer day - we could have come home and found the house burned down. The damage is confined to the floorboards immediately under the bucket (which took a really good dousing to finally stop burning) and a burn mark on the sideboard (£30 - Ebay). Mum won't sleep tonight either for the worrying about what might have happened. Oh and the NEW smoke alarm WASN'T GOING OFF!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 OMG a reminder how easy it is for a fire to start Lucky you came back when you did ! I don't feel bad about leaving the ashes for ages before cleaning out the grate now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Good grief! Thank goodness you returned home when you did! Are the batteries any good in that smoke alarm? I have a fire angel, it charges up on a light fitting, so is always 'ready to go' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Smoke alarm test and a non plastic bucket needed me thinks. thank goodness theres no real damage. Obviously its upsetting but it could have been so much worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 so glad you're all safe and sound and there isn't too much damage, maybe get a metal bucket for the hot ashes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfamily Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 good job you got home when you did ........... at least there wasn't too much damage but it does unsettle you a bit to think what might have happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Yep its metal bucket time - well we need a new one anyway now we melted the old one! I've no idea why the smoke alarm wasn't going off - I've tested it since I posted the original message and it worked and gave both the smoke and the carbon monoxide warning - then James got out of bed in tears because he thought the house was on fire! At the time we were clearing up and putting the boards out he was getting into his fireman costume but he was obviously aware of the seriousness of the situation. The whole house was smokey - we had to open the windows etc then sit in the hot tub to warm up! The smoke alarm was fairly close to the fire area - the fire was in the "hallway" (its the size of a room) next to my kitchen, the smoke alarm is just outside the door in my kitchen - right outside my boiler room which is in Mums bit of the house - the door was open and Mums house was filled with smoke too. There is another smoke alarm at the top of my stairs but I don't think that one works and TBH there are numerous doors between it and our "risky" areas - we put the new smoke alarm (turns out it wasn't new either - Mum had it in her old house and it used to go off whenever she burned toast!) where we thought it would be most effective. Its about 12 ft from Mums kitchen, next to the door to my kitchen and right outside the boiler room in case of carbon monoxide problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanbb Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Just so glad that you are all safe and well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 What a very close call indeed!!! So glad you didnt come home to anything worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlass Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Oh God!! thank goodness things worked out as they did and no one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rona Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Just as well you got home when you did and that it wasn't worse. Does you local fire brigade do fire prevention surveys/advice. Might be worth asking to make sure you get the right sort of alarms in the most appropriate places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanbb Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Just as well you got home when you did and that it wasn't worse. Does you local fire brigade do fire prevention surveys/advice. Might be worth asking to make sure you get the right sort of alarms in the most appropriate places. it would definately be worth pursuing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Maybe get a fire extinguisher too, incase it happens again and the tap isnt nearby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I will see what the fire brigade offer. We have an extinguisher and a blanket - I didn't think we needed either although after pouring 2 litres of water on the floorboards I was starting to wonder if I should go get the extinguisher. Of course Mum grew up with fires - so really should have known better, what worries her is that she meant to take it out but must have got distracted. I've suggested instigating a pouring on water programme when we empty the ashes - makes no difference as we use them on the garden anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 You must have all got a fright . Glad you're all OK and not too much damage done (I hope your interview dress doesn't smell all smoky now ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riane Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Glad you are all ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Blimey Peng. Am so glad that no-one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 So lucky you were home in time. I always use a plastic bag to clean out the ashes and leave it outside. (Even though I don't use plastic bags, we still seem to have lots in the house from other people ) I had 20+ bags in the shed waiting to be used as dust baths for the hens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I use something like this for my hot ash, it's the safgest way to deal with it. http://www.thefiresideshop.co.uk//category-6265/product-20339//-------Brockham-Ash-Tidy-------.html When the ash is cold, I take it outside and empty it into a large carrier bag (Waitrose or B&Q is ideal) and put the ash in the bin. It's big enough to take two full ash pans, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Oh, wow, that sounds like a lucky escape.........such a good thing that you got back when you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 gosh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 What a close call - glad no-one was hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...