Posted on 01/26/2007 9:31:25 AM PST by erikm88
Local fire crews are dealing with a big spike in accidental fires and some of them may be caused by compressed logs.
Ramona Estay of Woodinville nearly lost her home because of the mistake she used a compressed log in her wood stove.
"It was about ten o'clock and I noticed the fire was completely out of control and I went to open this up to push the log back, and the fire was literally coming out up to here. It was roaring," she said.
Estay quickly closed the door and called the fire department.
"It was so bad by the time they got here, sparks were flying up," she said.
The room filled with smoke and some sparks burned and stained her carpet.
"I'm very lucky to have a home," she said.
Estay didn't realize that fire was caused by the compressed log she was using. The log was a popular brand called "Pine Mountain."
That brand is one of the few that comes with a warning on the label, but the print is so small on the label, it can easily be overlooked.
But if you look close up, it reads " not for use in andirons, wood stoves or air tight stoves." The added materials in compressed logs makes them too hot for those settings.
So if you have a wood stove or any other kind of air-tight stove, read the label very carefully before you burn another compressed log.
There are a number of brands available on the market. The EPA says the only compressed log you should use in wood stoves should be made of 100-percent sawdust.
And remember, a fire that's too hot can crack or damage your wood stove or release deadly carbon monoxide.
On another note, I can't stop from shaking my head....
Very similar......http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1729337/posts
Thank goodness, I was almost about to use these to heat my turkey fryer in the garage!
LOL. Now thats bad. Funny but bad. ;-)
Give a man a match and he'll be warm for a minute. Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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