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Porch fires a major threat, fire chief says
By adamg on Fri, 05/11/2018 - 7:44am
Chelsea Fire Chief Leonard Albanese is saying residents need to reduce the "fire load" on their porches, following a six-alarm fire that destroyed two triple deckers - and they can start by not smoking or cooking on porches - the Chelsea Record reports.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
Smokers will not stop...
... endangering the public on their own. The need for laws banning smoking on planes and in workplaces has shown this to be true.
Grills
Smokers can start fires by improperly disposing of cigarettes. The majority of rear porch fires are caused by illegally grilling on the porch. No charcoal, ever (the whole 'gravity' thing involving the bottom air intake vents) and no gas, except on a first floor deck. This also counts the one pound propane camping stoves. NOTE: This is City of Boston. Your mileage might vary.
Laws only work if you obey them.
ED: By 'fire load' he means stuff like old mattresses, stuffed chairs, bags of trash, etc.
So true
The City of Boston, though they say not to do so, does not enforce grilles on porches, decks or balconies. Every so often you see complaints on 311 but nothing is done about it. Drive around the City and you see them, some in big multi unit luxury condos. Realtors perpetuate the myth that it’s ok, evidenced by property adds touting it as a feature.
Chelsea
Nope, same in Chelsea. BBQ'ing on a porch is illegal. But people still do it. It's stupid, most triple decker porches are dry wood that will ignite in a second.
(I should know, had the top floor of my building go up quickly a few years ago due to a smoker)
And I agree, people here need to stop using their back porches as a storage room. Some back porches are a hoarders delight.
People with back porches will
People with back porches will want to grill on them. And smoke on them. And store cruft on them. No amount of repeating the words 'illegal' or 'stupid' will put an end to it.
To help the problem, how do you mitigate the fire hazard if you do grill on your back porch? I imagine putting large ceramic tiles on the floor until your grill should help a little. What else?
Your neighbors
Can help mitigate the hazard by calling 911 if you are about to set your house on fire.
I don't understand why all
I don't understand why all smokers haven't switched to e cigs already. Aren't they infinitely better for you?
eCigs NOT healthy
omg no, vaping is not healthy for you! https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/concerns-explode-over-new...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vaping-health-effects-rising-use-among-teens/