ANST - life during the droughts

[Sara Bairrington]

At 12:11 PM 10/28/99 -0500, wolf wrote:
>(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.

There is no really "safe" distance where fire is concerned, but I'd say at
least the length of the torch pole plus a foot.  When a lit torch falls
over, it can ignite the grass and foilage it falls into and thus set fire
to an entire campsite if not caught in time.

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

It should be, but isn't normally except at wars with an organized security
force.

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

Yes!!!  I do, no matter how upset the owners get.

>
>... 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)

Again, the answer is yes.  Only in this situation I'd talk with whomever is
in charge of the camp itself in order to get some back up for your actions.
 Or have a friendly discussion with the owners of the offending torches.


>
>... 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"

Sadly, that is the attitude of most people.  I'm afraid the lady should
have had that ill-placed torch removed from the area of her tent.  So
you're pretty much out of luck if such damage does occur.

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

Your camp coordinator and the security for the site.

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

Very few, I'm afraid to say.  Very few.

>
>... 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?  

heh, usually the designated parking area is a mowed field. I'd say nope,
they surely aren't cautioned about their converters and grass fires.

>
>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 ...)

Out here in Caid, fire safety is the first thing on any site sheet!  Your
suggestion as to education is very good.  Perhaps you should get it started
in your own local area and help it spread?  I've seen mobile homes burnt to
cinders because a car parked on the side of the road and it's catalytic
converter started a fire in the short mowed grass.  The home and the
surrounding 3 acres were totally destroyed.

Baroness Ulrike the Franke


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