After writing last week’s blog, I popped down to see the lady whose garage had been burnt after their neighbour’s shed caught fire.
It’s only when you stand in a building gutted by fire that you realise just how devastating it can be. What struck me most was the fact that most of her household appliances were not ruined by being burnt, but because their plastic parts had simply melted away. Take the washing machine, for example. Inside the clothes were singed at their edges, but the front panel and the ‘glass’ door had completely melted away. The back of the freezer seemed untouched, but the front plastic controls were long gone. Even her partner’s beloved motorbike, blackened as it was, looked intact – except for the plastic parts.
On the side of the house itself, the sorry tale of plastic meltdown continued. Plastic gutting hung down the wall like candle wax, and the double-glazed windows in their plastic frames had warped in the heat.
Now, of course, they have the unenviable job of cleaning up the mess. The insurance company sent a fabulous team of cleaners who scrubbed the house from top to bottom just a day or two later. (A great service which not only helps with reducing damage but also gives a moral boost at a depressing time, no doubt.) But they have several mounds of burnt boxes, blackened machinery and charred timbers to dispose of, and an awful lot of melted plastic to scrape off their garage floor….
If your garage went up in smoke, how would you be prepared? FPO fire expert Jason,has three top tips that would give you early warning at least…
- Invest in a heat alarm for the garage, which is unaffected by car exhaust fumes or dust. Also ensure you can hear it OK!
- Make sure all your household smoke alarms are working properly, and you have enough to detect smoke that might enter the house from adjoining buildings.
- Know where your mobile phone is at all times; if your electricity supply is disrupted by fire, a normal cordless phone won’t work as you exit the house.
As always, our advise in the event of a house fire is to get out, stay out and call 999.
(Thanks to P and family for allowing me to photograph the aftermath of the fire.)
