robutacion
Member
Hi peoples,
Fire, has been always a concern of mine, not only at the wood storage paddock but also at home where we gathered a tremendous amount of wood, there are just no empty suitable places, wood is stored in every hole and place where it can be under cover.
The only prevention I can put into action at the open storage paddock, is to make sure, the grass is cut often and that, the boundary fence is free of grass, along the 8 meters wide strip, as the required fire brake. The road side is to one causing the most risk, were a thrown cigarette to the tall dry grass, is all it takes.
The wood is piled in rows where I can walk around and the grass there has been poisoned to prevent tall grasses to grow in between the logs however, the thought of a grass fire coming from the farm next door, is a real risk and one that will worry me every year, particularly around this time of the year, (hot/dry season)...!
At the house yard where I have the old sheds used as workshop, drying shed and lolly-shop shed, plus other areas covered up with roof sheeting, are always a concern to me in Summer. There is also the fact that, I use lots of very flammable products, such as petrol, acetone, resins, varnishes and many more so, I tend to be extremely careful with any open flames, sometimes necessary in some jobs.
Welding is also another worry of mine, far too much saw dust everywhere, the floor is dirt and a combination of lost of compacted sawdust so, a hot flare fro welding felling in some of those areas unnoticed, can stay smoldering for some time before ignites so, I always stay there, after I finish welding/grinding, looking for any possible smoke building anywhere.
I have installed 4 1kg chemical dust fire extinguishers in strategic spots in the working area and lolly-shop however, these few months I have had a few dreams about a fire and knowing that my dreams always mean something, I started to get the gear I needed to set up a petrol pump system, connected to a 5,000 litre water tank.
I got it finished last week, a few test did prove that the flat hose that come with the unit was useless in an emergency, these hose created far too many kinks and the water just can't get through until every one of those kinks is sorted, by then, would be nothing to save, it just takes too long before it can be used so, I spent another couple of hundred bucks, to buy a proper fire hose on a reel, the same ones you see everywhere in buildings.
I manage to created a small area under the house and near the water tank where I could put the petrol pump, I used some metal U channel to make a sliding runner, making it easy to get it out in a hurry, far enough to access all areas of the pump, including the start cable.
Everything is connected, the only required is to turn the water tap at the tank and the gravity feeds the suction 1"1/2 hose and bleeds the pump immediately so, the only thing I need to do is open the fuel tap and pull the starting cord. The hose, still on the reel, will feel with water as soon as the tap from the pump to the reel junction is turned on and from there, I can start walking with the hose nozzle end in my hands and adjust the required water flow depending upon the distance and the flames strenght. There are 36 meters of hose on that reel, enough to cover the back fence and a few meters over...!
The house bottom wood/boards skirt, already had an opening/door at the pump location, I will make a new door and I will need to replace the hole wood on that skirt, is all pretty rotten, particularly on the sides where they get most of the weather so, that will be done but the important stuff is done and that is what matters at the moment.
I hope that I never have to use it for real however, I will be running the full system every couple weeks in Summer time, to make sure everything is in perfect working order...! Unless Mr. Murphy come along and stuff me up on the day...!
Be safe,
Cheers
George
Fire, has been always a concern of mine, not only at the wood storage paddock but also at home where we gathered a tremendous amount of wood, there are just no empty suitable places, wood is stored in every hole and place where it can be under cover.
The only prevention I can put into action at the open storage paddock, is to make sure, the grass is cut often and that, the boundary fence is free of grass, along the 8 meters wide strip, as the required fire brake. The road side is to one causing the most risk, were a thrown cigarette to the tall dry grass, is all it takes.
The wood is piled in rows where I can walk around and the grass there has been poisoned to prevent tall grasses to grow in between the logs however, the thought of a grass fire coming from the farm next door, is a real risk and one that will worry me every year, particularly around this time of the year, (hot/dry season)...!
At the house yard where I have the old sheds used as workshop, drying shed and lolly-shop shed, plus other areas covered up with roof sheeting, are always a concern to me in Summer. There is also the fact that, I use lots of very flammable products, such as petrol, acetone, resins, varnishes and many more so, I tend to be extremely careful with any open flames, sometimes necessary in some jobs.
Welding is also another worry of mine, far too much saw dust everywhere, the floor is dirt and a combination of lost of compacted sawdust so, a hot flare fro welding felling in some of those areas unnoticed, can stay smoldering for some time before ignites so, I always stay there, after I finish welding/grinding, looking for any possible smoke building anywhere.
I have installed 4 1kg chemical dust fire extinguishers in strategic spots in the working area and lolly-shop however, these few months I have had a few dreams about a fire and knowing that my dreams always mean something, I started to get the gear I needed to set up a petrol pump system, connected to a 5,000 litre water tank.
I got it finished last week, a few test did prove that the flat hose that come with the unit was useless in an emergency, these hose created far too many kinks and the water just can't get through until every one of those kinks is sorted, by then, would be nothing to save, it just takes too long before it can be used so, I spent another couple of hundred bucks, to buy a proper fire hose on a reel, the same ones you see everywhere in buildings.
I manage to created a small area under the house and near the water tank where I could put the petrol pump, I used some metal U channel to make a sliding runner, making it easy to get it out in a hurry, far enough to access all areas of the pump, including the start cable.
Everything is connected, the only required is to turn the water tap at the tank and the gravity feeds the suction 1"1/2 hose and bleeds the pump immediately so, the only thing I need to do is open the fuel tap and pull the starting cord. The hose, still on the reel, will feel with water as soon as the tap from the pump to the reel junction is turned on and from there, I can start walking with the hose nozzle end in my hands and adjust the required water flow depending upon the distance and the flames strenght. There are 36 meters of hose on that reel, enough to cover the back fence and a few meters over...!
The house bottom wood/boards skirt, already had an opening/door at the pump location, I will make a new door and I will need to replace the hole wood on that skirt, is all pretty rotten, particularly on the sides where they get most of the weather so, that will be done but the important stuff is done and that is what matters at the moment.
I hope that I never have to use it for real however, I will be running the full system every couple weeks in Summer time, to make sure everything is in perfect working order...! Unless Mr. Murphy come along and stuff me up on the day...!
Be safe,
Cheers
George
That is a nice setup though. Not sure if I would leave a creased bend on the hose going to the pump like it shows in the 2nd pic in on the top from the left