Some never learn the easy way...

[avalancher]

I pass by an old mobile home several times a week, and have been watching with a little bit of amusement the activities going on there.
Starting sometime in November, the homeowners sawed down one of many oak trees in their yard.I wondered at the time how they were going to drop the thing with all the stuff in the way, house, powerlines, etc and stopped across the street one day to watch.They would fling a throw line up into the tree a million times until they managed to get it over a high branch,then climb up on the roof of the house.Mid way on their line they had attached a length of saw chain and they would saw away until they managed to saw the upper part of the tree down.Then they would drop the rest of the tree.A few visits past their place showed them splitting and stacking the wood by the front door.As they burned up the tree in their stove,they would again hack another tree down and repeat the process.So far they have managed to knock down three trees and burn em up.Guess they have never heard of seasoning the wood before trying to burn the stuff.

Everytime I go past their place,smoke is pouring out of the stove pipe,which looks from the road to be nothing but single wall stuff that they punched through the wall.Looks like they cut a 2 foot square hole in the wall,stuck the pipe through, and surrounded it with sheet metal.

I happened to come past the place this morning, and all that is left is a big pile of rubbish and what is left of the frame.Feel kind of bad for em,sucks to have your house burn down,but it seems that just a smidge of common sense could have prevented this from occuring!

 

[Mud23609]

You just cant fix stupid. Seen that kind of stuff a few times over the years.

 

[flxblx]

Common sense is not very common!!!

 

[wkpoor]

Its happening everywhere. You would be invading their privacy to try and avoid disaster but you me and many people driving by these places know whats could very likely happen. Its usually on the coldest of nights it happens too when they are firing the stove hard to stay warm.
Move a mobile home in on a little piece of ground
Cut down the trees around the house
Burn them green in an uninsulated chimney pipe sticking through a window pain or just cut a hole in the wall.
I doubt they had insurance either.

 

[avalancher]

Voluntered for many years as a rural firefighter,and saw several homes that burned to the ground because of shoddy installation of woodstoves.The thing that bothered me I guess is I happened to watch the "accident" happen in its progression.But like you said, if I had stopped and warned them I doubt I would have gotten a very warm welcome, folks around here dont take to kindly to meddling in their affairs.

 

[beerman6]

A house I pass on my way home has the same kinda thing going on.Looks like they installed a new wood stove in the basement,took the stack out a window and half way up the side of the main floor.

I noticed the tan siding turned a pitch black color and it looks(from the road) to be melted.

Saturday I noticed they have a cookie sheet fastened to the siding somehow...

 

[freemind]

Couple of weekends ago, my cousin told me he was thinking of adding a woodstove in his NEW house. (3 year old new construction home)

The way he was describing how he wanted it set up, I told him it wouldn't work. He would melt his counters in the kitchen. In his living room, he would have to move his entertainment center.

He was figuring he could butt the stove up to any old place.

THEN we got on the subject of stove pipe. He was determined he could install sigle wall pipe. I don't think so Francis. :taped:

I told him he would need triple wall pipe to run through his ceiling, through the roof, NOT single wall pipe. And HE is a HVAC business owner.

Glad his wife has more sense than him.

I don't know WHY he would want a woodstove anyway. He is FAR to lazy to cut wood for his campfire. I have offered several times to take him cutting with me, but he is allways "busy".

 

[danrclem]

I hope that none of them got hurt or killed in the fire. I'd say that we're going to hear of more cases like this since so many people are struggling to make ends meet.

 

[flushcut]

Darwin missed that family :bang::bang:

 

[Steve NW WI]

Sad story Av, but one that's probably more common than we'd like to think.

Talking to them would be a slippery slope, might have worked and made ya some friends, but more likely had you tagged as a meddling, nosey, no good sob.

Wish I had an easy answer, but I don't.

Family farmhouse burned to the ground when I was 16. It can really put you to the test to see everything you owned in a pile of rubble. Don't wish it on anyone else.

 

[CrappieKeith]

THEN we got on the subject of stove pipe. He was determined he could install sigle wall pipe. I don't think so Francis. :taped:

QUOTE]

Way to go "Big Toe"....I'm guesing you had to see the movie!
Touch me and I'll Kill ya....touch my stuff and I'll kill ya....oh lighten up Francis!

We came..we saw...we kicked... azz!

Murray's best movie ever...Stripes!

 

[showrguy]

Avalancher,
next time you see something like this progressing i think you should stop and tell em this story...

i doubt you'd make any enemies once you told them just why you had to stop and have a talk !!!!

i also think ya kinda wish you would have stopped at the mobile home before this happened too ??

you sure do run into some strange situations down yonder..

 

[flotek]

clearance guidelines are there for a reason ... so is running triple wall pipe..
so is burning burning dry seasoned wood ..you can cheat strict codes here and there to a degree but if your going to half a$$ it you need to atleast clean the pipe out often .

 

[deerlakejens]

Please leave the political comments out of these threads, it adds nothing to them.

 

[Rodbuster22]

We have all made the assumption that it was the shoddy install and green wood that caused the fire. Maybe, maybe not. If you feel the least bit of remorse for not going and telling them of the risk, let me propose that they may well have been cookin' meth and burned the place down. In which case the world is now a better place. I mean really, it's not much of a stretch to think that meth lab in a mobile home could burn down.

 

[yooper]

Please leave the political comments out of these threads, it adds nothing to them.

lol...You must be the signature cop eh? I always thought people could put what ever they wanted in there sig. perhaps I was wrong

 

[showrguy]

i think his sig. is very accurate !!!!! and funny !!!!!!!! and true !!!!
hope i don't get banned........

 

[fireemt799]

All you guys have to do when you see something like this is take 2 minutes of your time and place an anonymous call to the local fire chief or building department so they can come out and inspect it and rectify the problem. We have got lucky and spotted a couple that would of been bad when we were out on a medical or other call. It aint that hard to make a call i wish more people would because i sure hate pulling burned bodies out of something that could of been prevented!

 

[flotek]

We have all made the assumption that it was the shoddy install and green wood that caused the fire. Maybe, maybe not. If you feel the least bit of remorse for not going and telling them of the risk, let me propose that they may well have been cookin' meth and burned the place down. In which case the world is now a better place. I mean really, it's not much of a stretch to think that meth lab in a mobile home could burn down.

thats a good point ..for all we know it could have even been electrical related

by the way deerjerker thats called a signature ,certainly not part of the topic at hand ,thanks though ..ill be here all night ..try the veal!

 

[Fronty Owner]

I don't know WHY he would want a woodstove anyway. He is FAR to lazy to cut wood for his campfire. I have offered several times to take him cutting with me, but he is allways "busy".

He's got you and you got a saw...

I feel for them loosing their house whether it was from the fireplace, electrical, or a grease fire.