Thatch fire at Sopley - 10 fire engines

[Andys]

Luckily no one's hurt but it looks like they had a job putting it out. Best read from behind the sofa for those of us with thatched roofs.

http://m.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11791026.UPDATE__Fire_destroys_thatched_cottage/

 

[jocelyn plummer]

ouch.

 

[tobydog]

Oh dear. Received my house insurance renewal from NFU yesterday for our thatched cottage. Thinking recently that we haven't seen many of these fires for a while but then it's been quite mild so less roaring woodburners.

I am shocked to see that although the firemen got to the house at the early stages, they still lost control of it. Only the ground floor walls and chimney left.

 

[mims&pip]

Like Tobydog I was thinking there hadn't been many thatch fires recently, thankfully.....but now this

Another reason why I'm so glad we sold our thatched house last year! For me - who admittedly is rather a pessimist - it felt as though it was an accident waiting to happen.....however careful we were.....

 

[Penners]

I was thinking there hadn't been many thatch fires recently

Sad to say, thatch fires are like investments: past performance is not an indication of future performance.

 

[mims&pip]

I was thinking there hadn't been many thatch fires recently

Sad to say, thatch fires are like investments: past performance is not an indication of future performance.

Sage words as always Penners

 

[Bayliss]

Such a shame, some serious re-building that will cost a fortune. Why do firefighters still use water for these fires when my simple mind tells me some form of foam would be a better option?

 

[Andys]

Hmm, a foam fire engine, like an airfield crash tender? The local fire service do cruise by with a clipboard occasionally and fiddle with our local hydrant opposite, like an undertaker with a tape measure, but I don't suppose they'd stretch to special vehicles. I wonder if we could permanently install some tanks, a mixing pump and some sort of foam dispensers on the ridge.
Perhaps it could be connected up to the smoke alarms, though I wouldn't want the house to foam itself whenever we burn the toast:-/

 

[Tony.]

Off topic it must be possible as my air cooled vw has a fire extinguisher linked to a pipe, fire in the engine compatment, it melts the pipe and activates the extinguisher.

I imagine it comes down to cost, as a proprietory fire sprinkler system could be designed

 

[88v8]

It's a shame one so rarely hears any detail about the cause of these fires.
But my understanding is that the most damaging thatch fires generally begin inside the thatch.
Thatch is waterproof, so squirting water on it doesn't get to the seat of the fire, hence it can't be extinguished.
Not even by sprinklers.
If the firemen arrive soon enough, and have the training and the will and aren't hobbled by 'Health & Safety', then they can climb on the roof and pull the thatch off to get to the seat of the fire, but they are hampered by the fact that most roofs are wired.
Of course if a fire started due to sparks that would be an external fire which could indeed be put out, perhaps even by the garden hose if there is sufficient water pressure.

Ivor