ANST - life during the droughts

[j'lynn yeates]

had a interesting conversation going with a couple friends about our favorite 
nemesis / scene setter (depending on perspective) ... the "tiki torch"

(based on several past incidents) situation is you have setup your camp 
(without torches) ... someone arrives later and sets up next to you and 
proceeds to plant torches too close to your space .... question for the 
audience:

... what is safe and reasonable distance from a flamable structure?  i usually 
want a *minimum* of torch height plus 4' to minimize chance that fuel sloshes 
onto my tent / gear if knocked over.

... is this usually mandated / enforced by the site coordinators?

... since they, like all open flame are supposed to be attended, should you 
snuff out ones that have clearly been "abandoned" by the owners?

... do you have a right to remove / extinguish them if they are planted in a 
way that you consider a danger to yourself / campsite or that blocks existing 
access? (i am not shy about removing / snuffing them out when planted too close 
to my tent ... especially if the offender saw a clearly demarcated camp site 
when they chose to setup ... and more than once have seen them setup in the 
middle of a main trail)

... if one falls / is knocked over and damages your camp, should the owner pay 
for replacement / repair of damaged camp gear?  last spring a lady i know lost 
her tent to a drunk blundering into a ill-blaced torch ... the owner who 
planted the torch took the attitude "it's a accident, i'm not responsible"

... who is the correct person to escalate matters to if necessary in the case 
of unsafe use of fire matters?

... how many sites / events plan for how to deal with things like grassfires 
(how to quickly marshal manpower, are tools to hand, etc ...).  

... do people take reasonable precaution about doing things like mowing the 
parking area so a catalytic converter dosn't start a grass fire .. are people 
cautioned to stay out of the grass with their cars?  

all are questions that have come out of collective past experiences ... one 
conscensus is that a section of "fire safety" would be a good thing to add to 
newcomers education since so many urban folk now have so little experience with 
it.  another good suggestion, at signin, everyone gets a sheet with site rules 
and regulations - with fire limitations and requirements clearly outlined (and 
who to seek out when problems, etc ...)

opinions???

'wolf
... saw some increadibly stupid fire-realated fiascos last weekend (not SCA, 
but a similar group with close enough large-group behavior patterns)

... truth is the sword of us all (lords of the new church)
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