note to self: smoke fish, not house

[Bait O' Eggs]

I smoked a tuna and a coho tonight. I took it out of the smoker around 7'ish and came into the house. Just moments after signing off from chat tonight my dog is going ballistic in the back bedroom. My wife goes to see what is going on and moments later she is screaming for her life.

I jump up and run out back to see flames about 50 feet in the air 8 feet from my house. images/icons/shocked.gif

My smoker is fully engaged and the cedar fence is lit up like a roman candle. The juniper trees that stand on my neighbors side of the fence have flames up thru them and out the top. The neighbors, 2 houses away, can see flames 20 feet over the two story house next to me.

I run for a garden hose and tell the wife to call 911. She cannot get the phone to work because the computer is "online". images/icons/rolleyes.gif She cannot get the computer to X out and go offline, she just pushed the button on the tower and turns everything off. After she gets the big red trucks on the way, she gets our son who is sleeping 8 feet from all the commotion out to the front porch area and ready to run for the car. Meanwhile I am trying to unscrew the garden sprinkler and get some water on the fire. I managed to get the flames knocked down before the fire engines showed up. The paint on the end of the house is completely peeled off and blistered. The smoke house is a complete loss images/icons/rolleyes.gif the fence is toast, and the junipers are not going to see another spring.

Quite a lot of excitement for a Wednesday evening around our house. I am really glad the fire station is only 3 blocks away. In the past I have gotten tired of listening to them head out to emergencies on a regular occurance, but tonight I could hear the sirens about 1 minute after I saw the flames. Right now I would rather listen to the sirens than my wifes cute little comments. images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif I am sitting here with my sons toy firetruck and fireman action figure next to the keyboard. images/icons/rolleyes.gif

After the hoses were rolled back up, I took the smoked fish out and offered it to the fireman, and not a one of them would take a piece. I tried. images/icons/frown.gif

[Dogfish]

BOE,

Don't feel bad. The important thing is that nobody got hurt!

I burned up our kitchen on Superbowl Sunday, just before the kickoff, two years ago. I was making my special Buffalo hot wings, when my burner decided to go white hot and melt the pan holding about a quart of oil. Luckily I was the only one home. I emptied a 5 pound extinguisher on the fire and it still wanted to go. I finally threw a wet bath towels over the stovetop to put the main fire out and grabbed the other 5 pounder from the garage to put out the cabinets. The fire department arrived just as I walked out the front door. My wife still gives me a bad time about it. Talk about some "hot wings". images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif

Just reading your story got my heart pumping. I am sorry it happened, but plants, fences, and smokehouses can be replaced. The really valuable items survived, your family.

Have a good night. Andy

[Deleted User]

I'm glad you and your family are all okay Roy. You can laugh about it years from now but I'll bet you might have a sleepless night tonight.
Stew

[ampersat]

sorry to hear about your little event. the good thing is that it was only some stuff and stuff can always be replaced.

let this be a reminder to everyone to pay attention to what you're doing.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Roy,

I heard that those Tuna were soggy and hard to light but they burned with a vengence once they were finally lit images/icons/shocked.gif

All kidding asside,
I'm thankful that you and your family is safe and that the damage wasn't more extensive.

Our family lost our house and everything in it when I was 10 years old. It was horrible. I always donate to the Salvation Army, they are heros.

Hope life returns to normal soon. Hang in there images/icons/smile.gif.

Let me know if ya need help painting the house or cleaning things up. I'm not kidding images/icons/wink.gif. Email me or give me a call.

Ray

[smilesforu]

Wow close call Roy..glad all are safe. Will the next smoker be made from metal/brick. images/icons/shocked.gif Having homemade smokers go up in flames is fairly common. Ours went up in flames and so did a friends...Both of ours were in the middle of the lawn away from the houses. Ours was made in a fridge with to much wood and too much ventilation. His was a plywood smoker.

Thanks for sharing your close tragedy it may move some of the smokers farther out in the yard!!

[willierower]

Dude, That sucks. Im glad everyone is ok and you didnt lose anything that cant be replaced.
A few years ago a frind and I were riding his Yamaha Banshee around in his field. We put the quad back in the shop and walk out to see the field up in flames. He ran in and called 911 and I tried to use a garden ose to knock down some of the flames. We managed to keep the flames away from the house. The 5 acre field and 4 acres of the nieghbors Christmas tree farm went up in flames be for the fire dept got there. Even Green christmas trees burn like crazy.. It was a little exciting for awhile.

[Floater]

WOW, I'm going to have a talk with my brother-in-law. His smoker which is just like the one FM is giving away, is right next to the wood shed (couple of cord) which is attached to the garage which is right next to my mother-in-laws house. The garage is right next to the neighbors house too.
To heck with stuff. Take a fireman out fishing sometime. images/icons/wink.gif

[Gizmo Man]

Roy: sorry to hear about the event. A few years ago I came home to find the cord on my electric blanket burned through. I have a waterbed frame and had placed a regular mattress in the frame. The blanket had a big burn hole in it and the frame had a big burn mark. What kept it from spreading is beyond me. You are not the village idot so take that off...it could happen to any of us.

What strikes me funny is the similarity of your tragedy and the little story I posted about you last month...someone telling us something....

Let you know about this weekend in the am.

If you need to borrow a smoker to complete your job, I have a big chief you can use.

Giz...

[ 09-05-2001: Message edited by: Gizmo Man ]

[Firedog]

BOE sorry to hear about that. Glad nothing that cant be replaced was lost. Fire moves quick and can do a lot of damage real fast. Don't beat yourself up over it S*** happens even to good people. I have seen a lot of fire and sometimes it is just a flat out accident. Learn from all of this and keep it from happening again. We haven't met but I would be glad to come out lend a hand if needed. Take care. Firedog

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: firedog ]

[will_e_fish]

BOE- I am glad you and your family are ok. Sorry to hear about your smokehouse loss at at least the fish are ok. I bet the next smokehouse has built-in safety features ie firesensors & automatic 911 dialup. I have blackened a fish but not the deck or anything else yet. But reminds me to initiate a safety plan for that instance. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn.
will_e_fish

[Silent Lucidity]

How'd the fish smoke up? Pretty good?

Cmon, there's got to be a silver lining here somewhere.

[Vinny]

Yeah, . . . what Firedog said.
Sometimes you just have reach down grab yourself by the bootstraps . . .
That material stuff can be replaced and repaired.
The sooner you clean up that mess (and get a better smoker), the sooner it will fade into your memory. Then you add one more thing to your list of "Life's Lessons that I won't have to learn twice (hopefully)."

[BUGLEMAN]

I think I will stick with the big chief! Glad you are not hurt. Just a little bruised.

[WheresMyBobber]

Bummer Roy, sorry to hear that, and I'm glad no one was hurt. It's amazing how fast those things happen and get out of control.

I'll second the offer to help with any repairs. Feel free to drop me a line.

images/icons/smile.gif images/icons/smile.gif

[Gone Fishin]

Roy,

Alot of years ago now, when Mrs. Gone Fishin' and I were living in Newberg, I was a member of the local volunteer dept.

As a member, we carried pagers so that we could respond to emergencies in an instant.

I too had a whole smoker full of Nestucca River fall chinook and early one Sunday morning I checked on the fish just before heading off to church. I figured the one hour we'd be gone, the fish would be perfect when we returned home.

As I sat in church that morning, my pager went off, and as the voice said the address of the location, I realized THAT WAS OUR HOUSE!!! images/icons/shocked.gif

It's amazing what goes through your mind as you rush home to find fire-apparatus lined up your street and smoke billowing out your attic windows!

The smoker was a complete loss and it had started up the back wall of the garage and peeled the paint, but other that that everything was fine.

As I walked into my backyard, several of my fire-fighting comrades were enjoying some of what was left of my salmon.

It even made the local paper! So, other than the loss of a little fish, paint and pride we can laugh about it, as can you.

Glad everything is going to be fine.

And as others have mentioned, if you need a hand Roy, I'll be there too, just let me know.

-Marty images/icons/smile.gif

PS: On the positive side, my homeowners policy covered the damages and even paid for my loss of smoked fish! Check it out Roy.

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: Gone Fishin ]

[DK]

just a note about fires, when deep frying salmon or turkey in the OUTDOOR deep fryers be careful, the thermomter they give you in the kit has been off in a few instances so the grease gets hotter than its suppose to so that when you open the lid the fumes are ignited and have one h%ll of a fire 2 houses in eastern washington have burned because of this and make darn sure to use OUTDOORS, DK also stick with peanut oil not the corn oil then corn oil is more flamable

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: DK ]

[parker]

Roy - keep up the good spirits and just remember that you'll be laughing over this in a few years.

Heck, I laugh at the two times we brought the FD to our house. One was when I decided to hose down a wasps nest in our filbert (sp?) nut tree with gasoline. That in itself was ok, but it's when I decided to shoot a flaming arrow at the nest was when things got a little hairy!

Or, the time my Dad and I took about a bazillion spray paint cans and added them to our massive burn pile. (The previous owner of the house owned a Ford Dealership so we "inherited" a bazillion cans of spray paint when we moved in). We knew we were in trouble when the first few hundred cans touched off. Sounded like WW III. Not only did that bring out the FD, it also brought out the local police, county sherrif, as well as the WSP! D'oh!

Anyways, fires suck. Hang in there, BOE!

Parker

[SLEDDER]

Roy, glad to hear you and the family are ok, it could have been alot worse. We all make mistakes or overlook possible problem areas that can cause an accident. This gives you an excuse to build a better mouse trap (smoker). images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[Pilar]

Roy, I've always heard that Tuna smokes pretty good, just hard to get lit. Hope you and yours are OK and the Mrs. doesn't harsh on you too bad.

Someday you'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

[MoJet Driver]

Sheesh BOE!

I was just kidding with that Merganser recipe. I didn't think you would try it with fish! images/icons/wink.gif images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif images/icons/shocked.gif

Glad to hear all survived. By the way, are you grounded now?

[scrod]

Geez....I got slammed for leaving the windows open while smokin' fish. I'm glad no one was hurt but I gotta use this for next time. images/icons/wink.gif

[Nanook]

This would be a wonderful opportunity to reply to some of your recent posts, and to point out who is really the flatlander, but I will refrain and show some empathy.

http://www.animfactory.com/animations/people_a_l/fireman/fireman_blinking_md_clr.gif

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Bait O' Eggs]

Thanks for the well wishes, and offers to help with the rebuild.

The fireman didnt do me any favors when they told my wife to make sure and check it to make sure it didnt re-light. The first night was a long one, with the wife waking me every 5 minutes to go outside and check it for the one millionth time. images/icons/rolleyes.gif

Marty, I needed that story to tell the wife, "see, I am not the only one" images/icons/wink.gif

****** - I think I have lived in the valley to long, I could be becoming a flatlander with this bone head move.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Roy,

Since you obviously lived through this thing and your family is ok and well fed images/icons/wink.gif your last name is not DARWIN.

That being the case you are not qualified to be this villages idiot.

Please refrain from the use of the title. images/icons/smile.gif

When is the painting/fencing party?

Are we gonna paint the house pink and play John Couger fer motivation LOL.

Lift yer head up buddy and lets have some fun.

What material was your fence made from? What are the deminsions of the lumber?

Is pink paint o.k.? images/icons/grin.gif

Maybe you should give me a call....

[O'City Fisherman]

Roy,
To help with your repairs I am sure that insurance will cover things for the house

BUT

For the wife I will be willing to purchase some more of your divers to help you get her something to forgive you about the everything.

Glad to know that everything turned out OK. images/icons/cool.gif

[Nanook]

So Roy, NEITHER of us are flatlanders then, peace? Yell if you need any help.

Rick

[Tanner]

Hey Roy,
Sorry to hear about the mishap. That should be a covered loss. I know of a great disaster restoration company.

Check your e-mail.