Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A bit of excitement at the Acreage.......

Around 4:30pm on Monday I was in the kitchen when I popped my head into the family room and saw what I first thought was fog outside the window.   It turned out to be smoke and we had a grass fire out the back.

I had put what I thought was cold ashes out by the fence line a couple of days ago and they couldn't have been cold, and must have been smoldering, before the wind caught it and started the fire.  It was too much for us to handle so we had to call out the fire department.  They were hear in just a few minutes and had it out in no time flat.

All in all three fire vehicles arrived, along with various other cars and trucks as it is a volunteer fire department.  Two OPP police officers in their cruisers and an ambulance..........not sure why the ambulance came???

These photos were taken after the fact:



That truck below carried a large four wheeler quad vehicle with a big water tank on the back, that went into the field........
Here is where the fire did the damage in the field.


Our property wasn't badly burnt the damage was basically to the field behind us.
I popped over to the neighbours to apologise for burning down their field.  They weren't upset, as that field isn't used for anything. Infact no doubt the grass will grow like crazy now!!

We were fortunate as there was very little wind and it was blowing away from the house.  Also the police didn't charge me with burning down a field, as they could have and also fine me$300.  Told then to put me in jail for the night, as I could do with a decent nights sleep!!!  When dh wandered over to talk to them even he told them to take me away for the night..............which I thought was charming!!!

Lets hope today is a bit quieter.....I'm off to work for the day.

21 comments:

angela said...

Nothing like a bit of excitement to keep us on our toes! Thank goodness nothing serious happend. I will now make sure any ashes I put outside are well and truely out.

Valerie said...

Grass fires do spread quickly, don't they? It's a good job your neighbour didn't take exception to his field being burned. I don't think you would have enjoyed a night in jail.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Gill, glad no one was hurt. As I was reading your post I thought whoever does the mowing will be thanking you later in the summer!

Crazy Acres Rose said...

glad to hear that no-one was hurt, and no damage was made to any buildings or farmlife. Does this field belong to the neighbour who has the horses? if so, the horses will love you, as the grass will be so green and lush for them to eat this summer. Our neighbour had a field like this burn a few years back, and yeah, the grass that grew back was the best grass they had in any of their fields all year :D

The amubulance is always sent out, along with the other emergency vehicles. Just in case someone is needing emergency help ie: this fire could have set off an anxiety attack in someone, or heart attack, or if someone inhaled too much smoke, or had received burns trying to put out the fire.. etc.. loads of medical emergencies that could pop up..

glad you are ok, and that you weren't fined.

Jane and Chris said...

Gill, you are not the first and won't be the last so don't worry!
In the depths of winter we put what we thought were cold ashes into a pile of snow.The next morning we saw that the snow had melted and the pile of bark underneath the snow had caught fire. We managed to stomp it out..luckily.
Never a dull moment in the country.
Jane x

Janet said...

Glad you could see the funny side once the fire had been put out ! My husband would have made that very same offer to take me away and lock me up -its the sort of thing I`d do too !

Niki said...

Glad it wasn't more serious! Ashes are tricky...

Sandi McBride said...

Okay Gill, so I can understand YOU requesting a nite away for some rest, but hubby? LOL, yes, charming! Glad you didn't suffer any property damage! Here, people burn their fields off on purpose to improve the soil...or so they say...perhaps they've put out live coals as well and just won't admit it!
Sandi

Scrappy quilter said...

Gill so glad you are okay and your home didn't burn. Like you said though, the grass will be growing in no time flat and need to be cut bigtime. Have a nice day at work. Nice and warm here the past couple days, sending it your way. Hugs

Shammickite said...

It's nice to have a bit of excitement to relieve the tedium of day to day living, but I'm not sure that I'd choose THAT sort of excitement!! Good to know that house is still standing and everyone is OK!

Karine said...

How on earth does anything catch fire at this time of the year with the ground so soggy??? I always though grass fires only happened in the dead of summer! I'm so glad that it turned out to not be too serious and no damage was done to your house! It's also a good thing that the neighbors and the police were good sports about it!

Stella Jones said...

It looks and sounds to me like those firemen were glad of something to do! However, I'm sure you felt, now what's the word? sorry? worried, whatever. It is so easy to mistake ashes as being dead when they are anything but and it only takes a little wind and a fire starts. I can hear The Prodigy now singing 'She's a firestarter!'
Glad everything turned out well.

Stephanie V said...

I remember as a girl that the men of the neighborhood would get together each spring and burn off the grass. It always scared me. Glad you're all safe and not a lot of damage was done.

that british woman s brother said...

some people will do anything just to get some interesting crack and pictures on their blog - thats probably where mine falls down - i only have a normal boring life and am allways working - no time to do the exciting stuff !!!
i would have locked you up , i agree with dh - you probably need locked up for your own safety and poor dh's sanity
ha ha ha nick....

Piece by Piece said...

Glad no one was hurt, it was a good thing that you looked out when you did it could have been a lot worse.
If you are having all the rain like we have had/having I am surprised the grass was dry enough to burn.
You were lucky not to be fined.
Patricia

DeniseinVA said...

That sounded a bit scary. Glad everything worked out okay. I remember when we were in California a brush fire came within a quarter of a mile of us and that was too close for comfort.

Kim said...

From now on, add some water to the pail of ashes and let them sit outside for awhile before dumping them - just to be sure :)

What a way to meet the neighbours LOL

peppylady (Dora) said...

Older I get less excitment I want or need in my life.
I'm glad no one got hurt.

Coffee is on.

Anonymous said...

I am glad your home was o.k. Bet Molly loves all the excitement. My dh would have paid to put me in jail.

QuiltedSimple said...

oh. wow. i am so glad you are ok. my biggest fear (being a firefighter's wife) is that I will be burning something somewhere and have to call the fire department. At least in Ohio - the ambulance comes to treat any injuries the firefighter's receive - i know our volunteer district everyone has to get checked out before everyone leaves. glad you are ok!
Kris

Rose said...

I go away for a long weekend and look what happens!!! I am glad it was no worse than it was...

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