bcla
On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2012
I was odd last night. I woke up from the sound of popping noises that sounded kind of like fountain-style fireworks. I didn't have my glasses on, but I could see an orange glow around the edges of a window shade and looked outside. Brush and perhaps a tree were on fire next to a wooden utility pole across the street, although it didn't look like the utility pole was sparking nor on fire itself. I called 911 on my cell phone and they asked my address. It's kind of complicated, but I think they initially messed up the correct fire department to call until I mentioned which one serves my area. I might have also given the wrong city in my panic until I corrected myself. I think that's kind of important with a cell phone since they can't necessarily correlate the number with an address.
It's kind of hard to describe the area, but what we have are parked cars in one area next to where this fire was. I was a bit freaked out that one of these cars might catch on fire and explode like you see in movies, but I found out that it's extremely rare since they tend to simply just continue to burn and maybe flare up if the tank ruptures/melts. I woke up my family and got my car keys in case we needed to get out quickly. I didn't want to get too close to it, but I started yelling just in case it got bad and neighbors needed to evacuate if the fire department didn't arrive in time. I tried hosing down some of the brush around my house while waiting for a fire truck to arrive. One of the neighbors was also up (he called 911 separately) and he went to that house to warn the neighbors while he suggested I get the neighbor next to my house.
The fire truck finally arrived (maybe 5 minutes after my call) and frankly they kind of took their time since it didn't seem to be burning that fast nor getting close to any structures. The trees/brush weren't tinder dry or anything, and I suppose the popping sound was from the moisture. They calmly set up a hose from the closest hydrant and hosed it down. By then a lot of the neighbors were up - mostly in their PJs and robes. We got to talking and the owner of the house where the fire started said it might have been from paint/stain (or paint rags) they had spontaneously igniting. I don't know if maybe they were letting it dry out before disposing of it.
My kid was up and wanted to see what was going on, but by the time we had all the clothes on it was mostly out.
I had a look at it in the morning and it frankly didn't burn all that much other than where it started. There was even a juniper bush which didn't seem to want to burn and parts of trees that partially burned. There were paint cans and a piece of cloth that was partially burnt. Knowing where the location was, I think anyone in the neighborhood could have tried at least getting it wet or using an extinguisher, although we mostly just waited for the fire department.
I live in an area where there are fire warnings quite often because of the amount of trees/brush and dry conditions. I remember the Oakland-Berkeley Hills Fire of 1991, and that kind of thing is hard to forget.
It's kind of hard to describe the area, but what we have are parked cars in one area next to where this fire was. I was a bit freaked out that one of these cars might catch on fire and explode like you see in movies, but I found out that it's extremely rare since they tend to simply just continue to burn and maybe flare up if the tank ruptures/melts. I woke up my family and got my car keys in case we needed to get out quickly. I didn't want to get too close to it, but I started yelling just in case it got bad and neighbors needed to evacuate if the fire department didn't arrive in time. I tried hosing down some of the brush around my house while waiting for a fire truck to arrive. One of the neighbors was also up (he called 911 separately) and he went to that house to warn the neighbors while he suggested I get the neighbor next to my house.
The fire truck finally arrived (maybe 5 minutes after my call) and frankly they kind of took their time since it didn't seem to be burning that fast nor getting close to any structures. The trees/brush weren't tinder dry or anything, and I suppose the popping sound was from the moisture. They calmly set up a hose from the closest hydrant and hosed it down. By then a lot of the neighbors were up - mostly in their PJs and robes. We got to talking and the owner of the house where the fire started said it might have been from paint/stain (or paint rags) they had spontaneously igniting. I don't know if maybe they were letting it dry out before disposing of it.
My kid was up and wanted to see what was going on, but by the time we had all the clothes on it was mostly out.
I had a look at it in the morning and it frankly didn't burn all that much other than where it started. There was even a juniper bush which didn't seem to want to burn and parts of trees that partially burned. There were paint cans and a piece of cloth that was partially burnt. Knowing where the location was, I think anyone in the neighborhood could have tried at least getting it wet or using an extinguisher, although we mostly just waited for the fire department.
I live in an area where there are fire warnings quite often because of the amount of trees/brush and dry conditions. I remember the Oakland-Berkeley Hills Fire of 1991, and that kind of thing is hard to forget.
