A disturbing episode happened last night. A neighbor came to the door to say that there was a fire in my driveway, did I know about it? I was shocked, and rushed out to see that the construction debris, accumulated in a dumpster and in my driveway from the window replacement and renovation demolition, was blazing and spreading in the brisk wind.
I ran back to the house to fetch a fire extinguisher and blasted it on the fire. Five seconds later, the extinguisher was exhausted, but the fire was merely diminished. The neighbor brought another extinguisher, and another 5-second blast brought the fire down to glowing embers. Still not out, so buckets of water were filled and applied.
Meanwhile, looking down the alley, a blaze had erupted from a garage a few houses away. Fire sirens had sounded earlier, but seemed to have gone elsewhere. I called 911 to report the garage fire. The flames went high, licking the power lines and trees, and it seemed forever before the firetrucks arrived.
Today, I see that the garage down the alley was burned to the ground. There were construction materials nearby, a stack of scorched trusses suggested that the garage was being repaired or replaced. Could it be that someone was cruising the alley, torching anything that looked like construction debris? I didn’t really expect that this would be one of the hazards of renovation.
Oh, and one more lesson: those home fire extinguishers may be good for small kitchen grease fires, but they just didn’t match my hollywood-derived expectation of how they would work in this situation. I guess it is unreasonable to expect them to quench a garage fire, but I really thought there was more in them than I saw. I will be replacing my spent fire extinguisher (and my neighbor’s) with one that has a higher capacity.
Hope everything is ok!
A lot of mischief. For outdoor fires I use a garden hose.
Sounds like a firebug in the neighborhood. I’m glad it was just construction debris.
Iv’e seen enough slagged plastic garbage cans and burned garages in South Minneapolis to recognize a “Flick your Bic” spree. Fortunately I have never been a victim but others within a block have. You appear to be in Sector 3 of the 3rd Precinct:
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@mpd/documents/webcontent/convert_265752.pdf
Check with Sue Roethelle — see http://www.minneapolismn.gov/police/crimeprevention/police_outreach_safe-teams for contact information. She will be an overworked woefully underpaid dedicated public employee but she may have some information about fire bugs in your area. Tell her Rich says “Hi!”. Expect her to take some time to get back to you.
sigh…teenagers, probably some of Derek’s students : )