Anyone else use a blowtorch to melt their ice?

[ghost recon88]

Man sets house on fire with blowtorch

NEW BEDFORD - After his 80-year-old mother nearly fell on the ice-covered steps of his home's back porch, Vasco Silva decided to take care of the problem as quickly as possible.

On Monday afternoon, instead of using a shovel or sand or salt as he did on the front porch, he chose a more blunt instrument: a blowtorch. "He didn't want the bricks to break," said Maria Silva, his wife, about the corrosive effects of salt.

Vasco Silva succeeded last year in melting the ice at the four-family home with the blowtorch that they use to light their grill, she said. This time, things didn't turn out so well.

When Silva applied the flame to the back steps, the fire quickly jumped to the vinyl siding on the back of the house on Davis Street and shot up four stories, charring much of the rear of the house. Several windows were broken and, on other parts of the facade, the wood frame of the house was exposed.

Fire officials said the blaze that started at 1:39 p.m. Monday caused about $30,000 in damage and left at least five people shivering in their apartments without heat or electricity.

"Using a blowtorch probably wasn't the best choice," said New Bedford Fire Captain Scott Kruger. "It definitely ranks up there."

Kruger said that this is the first time he has heard of someone trying to clear ice from their home with such a tool.

He said in the past the Fire Department has received calls for mishaps arising when people have tried to heat their frozen water pipes with blowtorches.

Kruger said no one was injured in the fire and that smoke detectors in the building appeared to work properly. He said he felt badly for Silva. "I don't want to embarrass him," he said. No charges are expected to be filed in the case, authorities said.

Silva, 52, a construction worker from Portugal who has lived in the home for 24 years, tried to put out the flames himself. After the fire climbed up the siding, he and his son used wet towels to try to beat back the flames.

"They didn't succeed," said Maria Silva. She said that everyone in the building's four apartments was related. Some were going to remain, while others will stay with relatives elsewhere. Silva said the family had insurance to cover the damage.

 

[finite automaton]

The tool man would be proud

 

[skyking]

I use a weedburner if needed. Last week the dump truck doors were frozen, I heated the door up and got in that way. You need to use your head and keep the proper distance. I was about 5 feet back, it was far enough away that I could have aimed it at a person and not burned them.
fixed linky, sorry my bad

 

[dakels]

He didn't want the corrosiveness of the salt to break his bricks. Yet he, the contruction worker, thought that bringing bricks from sub zero to 500+ degrees in a few seconds would be ok?

Skyking: why is your weedburner video some MMORPG? Do MMO's kill weeds and melt ice now too?

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: finite automaton
The tool man would be proud

I bet he feels like a tool, man.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: dakels
He didn't want the corrosiveness of the salt to break his bricks. Yet he, the contruction worker, thought that bringing bricks from sub zero to 500+ degrees in a few seconds would be ok?

Skyking: why is your weedburner video some MMORPG? Do MMO's kill weeds and melt ice now too?

LOL, sorry bout that. fixed the link.

 

[amicold]

Buddy's dad uses a propane torch to de ice the driveway. Never failed him in anyway.

 

[Freshgeardude]

HAHAHA, good fucking job

 

[Jeff7]

Salt is bad for bricks?

I know it's hell on iron, but ceramics?

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Salt is bad for bricks?

I know it's hell on iron, but ceramics?

I better not use any on my arms then

 

[Queasy]

A guy in my neighborhood did this last winter. The pipes in his garage were frozen so he'd thought he'd defrost them with a blowtorch. Ended up setting his house on fire. The flames went up through the walls and out the roof. Fortunately, it didn't burn down.

Because of issues with insurance companies and contractors, they are just now getting the house close to being able to move in again. It was just sitting there with a giant dumpster in the driveway, boarded up windows and doors, and a tarp over the roof for much of the year.

 

[Number1]

Would the insurance pay for the damage?

 

[imported_weadjust]

Originally posted by: Number1
Would the insurance pay for the damage?

Yes. No different than a grease fire in the kitchen. Insurance covers sudden and accidental stupidity.

So now you know how to burn your house properly in the new economy.