General Chat

Bobtanian - you're such a norty boy - this is a very serious subject! (She says, as she swings yet another fireman over her shoulder in her dreams!).

Agree babychamjgeee, all plugs out for me now.

so glad my smoke alarm went off two days ago.... i was doing toast..even stood there and turned the bread..i was doing a poached egg just a few feet away from toaster .. then the smoke alarm went off ..i didnt even notice the smoke the room was thick..... took all day to shift the smell....

many years ago ..i had a nasty fire..it gutted the kitchen and the ceiling had come down ..smoke ruined all the house... from that day ..i have never left anything electrical on ..never left washer on all plugs pulled out even now ..my OH leaves the tv on ..but is up most of night watching tv.. but you can never be to careful...

jgee

A widow AND a fireman.........the mind boggles......LOL

Bob, bless her, she did enjoy his visit, she was nearly 80 at the time and a widow !!!

We have what almost like an advert on telly, which shows a house fire caused by a washing machine being left on at night while the family are in bed.
In makes my blood run cold, and really gets through to you.
I recall a few years ago, a friend of mine being told an insurance company can refuse to pay out if the washing machine has been left on when the house is unoccupied. Don't know how true this is though.
Glad your family are safe.

Thanks for the advice. I rang my daughter this morning and told her what you said Liz and she was going to ring the police straight away - haven't heard back from her yet.

She also e-mailed xxxpoint the photo of the dishwasher and they replied that it had been sent to their Claims Department.

had a nice chap call round and install her alarms, but the one in the lounge fell off, it was just stuck on - had to get him back to do it again!

Hmmm!
some peeps will do anything to get a fireman in!!

LOL

Bob

Also, some fire stations will attend older people's homes to do a safety check and even install alarms for them free of charge. Not sure if all fire services will do it, maybe some will advise at homes with children too.

An elderly neighbour of mine had a nice chap call round and install her alarms, but the one in the lounge fell off, it was just stuck on - had to get him back to do it again!

Your daughter should phone the local police, people aren't supposed to steal items for scrap and should have asked first. Maybe they will know who is doing the rounds and it can be found before it's crushed.
I think it's disgusting that the assessor couldn't be more accommodating under the circumstances.
Lizx

AND please dont put fire alarms on Skeilings.........

The sloped part of the ceiling that goes up the stairs above your head .....the smoke will not get into the alarm it will by pass it and not sound

That's what my hubby reckons, Ann. Find it hard to believe really, when people nowadays just dump white goods wherever it suits them, because they're no longer allowed to take them to the tip.

Daughter's ringing the insurance company tomorrow. Got a feeling MIL might move in soon - she can be a rottweiler when it comes to this sort of problem!

I hope she can get help from the insurance company. No doubt it was taken for scrap.

I know Cath, I feel so upset for them. It just adds insult to injury, doesn't it?

Thats disgraceful Wend.
I hope if your daughter gets back to the insurance company they will be able to help her sort things out. Perhaps if she sends the photo it would help. I can't believe someone would steal a burnt out dishwasher, the mind boggles!!
****oint should get a flea in their ear.

Cath xx

I don't believe it! They rang the insurance company yesterday who told them that they should get in touch with the dishwasher manufacturer, as it was their responsibility. They did that and an appointment was arranged to-day for the xxxpoint engineer to come and inspect the dishwasher, which had been put out the front by the firemen in its burnt out state. It was 2 years old, but out of guarantee.

An hour before he was due, my daughter went outside and it had gone! The engineer arrived and said it had obviously been stolen and she should get in touch with xxxpoint. This she did and they told her that, as there was now no proof, there was nothing they could do. She told them the fire service had a fire report, but they said it would cost them £94 to obtain it and they weren't prepared to do that. When she pointed out to them that they could've all died she got no sympathy whatsoever. The engineer also saw the state of the kitchen, which she's cleaned to the best of her ability, but the ceiling is still black, and she showed him a photo of the burnt-out dishwasher.

She's lost her sense of humour!

Our local firestation is/was in the middle of Norwich and I often took my son past there and was invited in if he hung back watching the men at work on their engine, the doors were left open in those days. He sat in an engine and tried the helmet etc etc all a big thrill for a little lad. Later on I took other children that I childminded past and they too got to look at the engines close up etc Sadly that old firestation is being closed down and moved out of the city now so some places are further from the base and the old houses in the city centre will be more at risk for the time it wil take for engines to get back in to them should they catch fire.

When my son was about 5 or 6 he was sleeping in my kingsize bed as we were having work done on the house and his room wasn't finished. I put the electric blanket on to warm the bed as we didn't have central heating at the time and started to prepare his bath. Son jumped in and started playing with toys in the bath and then I smelled smoke( before the alarm had time to activate) and went into my room, folded back the duvet and there was a scorched area on the duvet cover and the sheet below right where the wiring went into the blanket. It wasn't an old blanket either. I quickly pulled out the plug and took all the bedding off, and there was a hole in the mattress about the size of a 50p piece. No flames and no more smoke but wasn't sure if the mattress was on fire inside so I rang the firestation and asked if they could send someone round to check it was safe and wouldn't smoulder and burn later on. They said they had to send the engine and crew as a 'shout' and couldn't just send a man with a van lol Had to say not to put the siren on down the street as the neighbour had a new baby but as son sat in bath there was a ring at the door and before he could get out, several firemen clomped up the stairs (no carpet due to work being done) They said as they passed him 'Hope you haven't used all the water' My lad was so excited! Firemen, in our house! They checked the mattress and said it was fine so I found clean bedding and remade the bed and all was ok. Claimed on the insurance and got some money towards more bedding but in honesty I patched the duvet and mattress and it was fine, just turned the mattress so the repair was at the bottom

Just shows how easy it is for accidents to happen tho.

Take care everyone and do check your escape route from the house. Most double glazing put in has to have a way of opening the window wide enough for people to get out from upstairs safely, rather than breaking it open so if you lock your windows, make sure you have all the keys to hand although the safety exit window shouldn't have a lock anyway.

Lizx

I agree, Teresa, we won't either. I do wonder about all the other electrical appliances etc. we do leave on all the time though. For instance, we leave computers, TVs, DVDs etc. unplugged and fridges, freezers etc. - they have to be on all the time.

What scares me most though is what the firemen told my daughter - that when you're asleep and you breath in smoke from a fire, you are unlikely to wake up.

Smoke alarms are SO important.

Wend x

Sorry, meant computers etc. 'plugged in'

Hi Wend,

Just seen your post and I am glad your Daughter and family are safe.
We do have smoke alarms and do not leave tumble dryer or dishwasher or at night but I have gone out in the day and left them on.
I wont be doing it again.

Your Grandaughter sounds a caring little big Sister.

Teresa

Thanks Mau, that sounds really good. Being a bit jokey here, but can't resist it - don't think my daughter was expecting 15 Fireman Sams in her tiny kitchen in the middle of the night! She even managed to spot the good-looking ones amidst the crisis! Like mother, like daughter ha ha!

ah Wend the 3 yr old sounds soo cute :O) glad the family are well.

Years ago when my son was very small,he walked with me past our fire station in town.Two of the firemen asked him if he wanted to sit up top,of course he said yes and they even gave him a helmet to wear.....he was ecstatic,but sadly I didn't have a camera....

The smoke alarm we have lights a pathway upstairs when it sounds the alarm,think we bought it at B&Q

Mau x

Good posts - a timely reminder to us all, I think. My hubby, who I shall now refer to in future as 'Spam', which is Uzzi's nickname for him (don't ask!), tested our 3 smoke alarms and the batteries were flat in two of them! He went out to-day and bought new ones. My daughter has her two wired into the electrics, which has got to be the best idea, but a hassle to do.

What's the stair alarm with guiding light, Mau? Haven't heard of that.

All the family are fine now thanks, after their nervewracking experience. One amusing thing - while they were sitting outside waiting for the fire brigade, the little one was grizzling a bit because he'd been woken up and his 3 yr old sister stroked his face and said 'Don't worry, Fireman Sam is on his way'. For her, it was all a big adventure, especially as they all sat in one of the fire engines while everything was being dealt with.

Wend x