ANST - life during the droughts

[Vicki Marsh]

Greetings from Baroness Xene,

Wonderful questions, 'wolf!!!  Thank you for asking them.

The responsibility of checking out the site and outlining the rules is that of the Autocrat / Steward.  If there is a Chirurgeon on site, it is also partly their responsibility.  If there is a burn ban in the county, the Steward is supposed to notify the attendees about the extent of the ban.  They will enforce it, as well.  If the event is large enough, and there is a Constable, Security detail, or a Baronial Guard, they should also take measures to enforce it - preferably in a friendly way.  

We are supposed to have a fire extinguisher or a bucket of sand within reach for any open fires.  Most stewards also have one handy.

I have witnessed a tent go up in flames at Ansteorran 25th year.  It was pretty scary.  There is this thing called "The Venturi Effect" that causes the fire to vent upward like a tornado, until the oxygen feeding the fire is removed - usually by dropping the tent.  The sound is weird.  All the fire extinguishers on the outside did no good until the center pole was dropped.  Fortunately, no one was hurt and the fire did not spread.

I have also seen a grass fire where the parking lot was mowed, but not raked.  A car with a hot catalytic converter set the grass on fire.  
Good site stewards will keep this in mind when setting up the parking lot.  Smokers should also always dispose properly of their butts, either field-stripping them, or putting them into an ashtray.  There was an event - I think it was a Wolfstar event, where the site tokens were fire retardant pouches of some kind, so all the smokers at the event would have a place to put the butts after they snuffed them out.   This is pro-active thinking.

I believe that all tiki torches should have "portable holes" of some kind.  It helps to keep them upright, even if they are bumped into.  Whatever people choose to do, everyone has the responsibility to keep our camping events safe, for everyone.  I have put out tiki torches that burned too close to a tent, but I also let the owner know that I did it and why.

If my actions accidentally caused someone's tent to burn, it would be my responsibility to replace it.  That is the only honorable thing to do.

Thank you for addressing this potentially dangerous situation.

Xene


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