Pyromaniac Pussies

[Guest]

Well, I'm back. I've been unable to connect since Valentine's Day when one of the cats set fire to the house, rendering it uninhabitable for three months and knackering the computer in the process.

Things have changed somewhat. Can anyone tell me (succinctly) what happened & why?

 

[Guest]

Hi, sorry to read of your troubles, but that has to be one of the best reasons for a house burning down I have ever heard! How did you get that past your insurance agent? Back to your question, it seems that some person(s) could'nt resist a bit of very silly behaviour which resulted in some contributors becoming very upset (quite rightly). So Karl decided to close the site for a while and re-designed it with more security for genuine readers in the hope that the problems dont reappear.

 

[Guest]

So tell us how the Pussies Pyromaniaced.

 

[Guest]

That\'ll teach you to change the litter box!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Actually, of course, I'm very sorry to hear of the disaster. Hope you're getting things put back together. And, as the previous response indicated, a hacker caused some significant problems for people.

 

[Guest]

In a nutshell

Liz & I leave for work at some ungodly hour in the morning. Receive 'phone calls at 14:30 to say that house is on fire. On return, kitchen, hall & spare bedroom gutted, rest of house 100% smoke damage.

It's only circumstantial, but the sub-officer & I worked out the most likely scenario:

Cat enters airing cupboard (favourite spot).

In scrabbling up, flicks on old fashioned light switch, thus switching on light inside airing cupboard (bare bulb).

In attempting to reach top shelf, pulls duvet down onto light bulb.

Duvet smoulders, ignites bedding & towels & insulation round hot water tank.

Bingo! No house.

It's ironic that the one that probably caused it survived, but cat #2 died from smoke inhalation.

I had 7 fire extinguishers on the boat and not one at home. Mind you, as we weren't in, it wouldn't have made much difference.

 

[Guest]

Quite a scenario

I guess they traced the starting point back to the closet and made up the story around that - but quite a stretch of the imagination? Turn the light on - how many times have they done that? - catch item on bulb - pretty difficult? - oh well, best fit explanation so far?

After a friend of ours lost their boat due to a fire, I have fitted our boat with a fire safety device that would probably have saved your house had you had one. There is no reason why any house or business could not fit the device.

You can read about it in our DIY projects page on our web site. All boats using shore power and all houses (using shorepower) should have one. Go to http://www.yandina.com/hints.htm#NoFire