Firemen said there were chewed wires and a dead raccoon up there, two other raccoons escaped. Neighbor does not know how they got in. I would think it raccoons were in your attic you would know it, you'd hear them moving around. I guess unless you have all your wiring in metal conduit, this is a hazard. Maybe would not have been a fire if he had ground fault protection on the circuit. Of course that only tripps if the raccoon grounds, but if the raccoon is on wood and it does not leak to ground the circuit would act as if a toaster were in operation.
Neighbor's Attic Caught Fire
- Thread starter TallPaul
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Originally Posted By: TallPaul
I would think it raccoons were in your attic you would know it, you'd hear them moving around.
Exactly,how did he miss that?
I would think it raccoons were in your attic you would know it, you'd hear them moving around.
Exactly,how did he miss that?
Sad.
We have had a lot of fires around here lately and most electrical. Overloaded circuts but not enough to trip the breakers they say...
Don't have any trees close enough to the house ( I kept them away for this reason) but it is a concern.
Screens and wire mesh is your best friend to prevent critters from ending up in the attic/craw space.
No one was hurt I hope?
Bill
We have had a lot of fires around here lately and most electrical. Overloaded circuts but not enough to trip the breakers they say...
Don't have any trees close enough to the house ( I kept them away for this reason) but it is a concern.
Screens and wire mesh is your best friend to prevent critters from ending up in the attic/craw space.
No one was hurt I hope?
Bill
All are well. My kids air lifted the dog (picked him up and over the fence) out of the yard, as he was getting under foot and the firemen left the gate open. Good thing it didn't happen at 3 am! I believe the fire was confined to the attic but a lot of smoke was in the house. My daughter looked out the window that morning to see flames shooting out his eaves, then their kid (kid, ha, he's about 6'2") came running out dialing his cell phone, while the dad hosed down the flames.
The freaky thing is in Jan 2009 they hear a huge whumpf noise in the middle of the night only to find the entire family room ceiling has fallen in and all the insulation was soaked, there was a roof leak. They were in a hotel for months while that got repaired. Now they are back in a hotel.
The freaky thing is in Jan 2009 they hear a huge whumpf noise in the middle of the night only to find the entire family room ceiling has fallen in and all the insulation was soaked, there was a roof leak. They were in a hotel for months while that got repaired. Now they are back in a hotel.
These folks seem pretty oblivious to major things that happen right underneath the roof of their own house...
The roof leaked that long... but no one ever noticed that wet spot on the ceiling that kept getting bigger and bigger? And to have three raccoons in the attic, and again, apparently notice nothing?
If I were you, I'd never let them borrow your car. If you do, it will come back with two flat tires, no oil left in it, the exhaust dragging the pavement, with the interior completely soaked with water.... and when you question the condition of your car... their response would be "what damage to your car?"...
The roof leaked that long... but no one ever noticed that wet spot on the ceiling that kept getting bigger and bigger? And to have three raccoons in the attic, and again, apparently notice nothing?
If I were you, I'd never let them borrow your car. If you do, it will come back with two flat tires, no oil left in it, the exhaust dragging the pavement, with the interior completely soaked with water.... and when you question the condition of your car... their response would be "what damage to your car?"...
Make sure the two perpetrators who escaped are not hiding on your property somewhere,
I did see the corner house from me, about 4 housed down had their garbage can overturned and a bag ripped open, a steak bone laying on the ground. Yep, those coons are out looking for food and perhaps a new home. My dog should keep them off my property.
Then there is the rat story. I trapped a rat in my yard last fall, called the city animal control and was told it's a 300 dollar fine or jail time to live trap in my town. Then the animal control guy said he was going to have to release the rat in the park. What an idiot. Can't he get a washtub and a brick and sink the trap.
Three weeks ago I called in twice over a road kill rat on the next street. It's still there. I don't think they give a ____.
Then there is the rat story. I trapped a rat in my yard last fall, called the city animal control and was told it's a 300 dollar fine or jail time to live trap in my town. Then the animal control guy said he was going to have to release the rat in the park. What an idiot. Can't he get a washtub and a brick and sink the trap.
Three weeks ago I called in twice over a road kill rat on the next street. It's still there. I don't think they give a ____.
Oh, yeah, the neighbor with the fire, I dont' think has a lot of money. I heard he works from home as a telemarketer. Gutters fell off house a couple years ago and never replaced. Roof looks rotted in the fire area anyway. They must be oblivious to what is going on around them. My wife thought to let them stay in our motorhome the night after the fire, glad she didn't follow through. Might has ruined it.
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
I did see the corner house from me, about 4 housed down had their garbage can overturned and a bag ripped open, a steak bone laying on the ground. Yep, those coons are out looking for food and perhaps a new home. My dog should keep them off my property.
Then there is the rat story. I trapped a rat in my yard last fall, called the city animal control and was told it's a 300 dollar fine or jail time to live trap in my town. Then the animal control guy said he was going to have to release the rat in the park. What an idiot. Can't he get a washtub and a brick and sink the trap.
Three weeks ago I called in twice over a road kill rat on the next street. It's still there. I don't think they give a ____.
"Release the rat"
amazing. I'd have a hard time dealing with that mindset.
Bill
I did see the corner house from me, about 4 housed down had their garbage can overturned and a bag ripped open, a steak bone laying on the ground. Yep, those coons are out looking for food and perhaps a new home. My dog should keep them off my property.
Then there is the rat story. I trapped a rat in my yard last fall, called the city animal control and was told it's a 300 dollar fine or jail time to live trap in my town. Then the animal control guy said he was going to have to release the rat in the park. What an idiot. Can't he get a washtub and a brick and sink the trap.
Three weeks ago I called in twice over a road kill rat on the next street. It's still there. I don't think they give a ____.
"Release the rat"
amazing. I'd have a hard time dealing with that mindset.
Bill
I was at Home Depot recently and buying some circuit breakers to add a couple of circuits in my house. They now have arc fault breakers in addition to ground fault breakers. I don't know much about them but I'd assume if the rats were chewing on the wires and cauased an arc it would trip the breaker. The guy working there said they were code in bedroom circuits a while back and now they are code for all circuits in a new home. They were incredibly expensive but I guess if they save you from a fire they would be worth it. A standard breaker was $5-10, I don't recall exactly, and these were $50+ each.
$50 is nothing compared to, as you say, a fire. Also a lot cheaper than installing metal conduit throughout.
Kestas
Staff member
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Gutters fell off house a couple years ago and never replaced. Roof looks rotted in the fire area anyway. They must be oblivious to what is going on around them.
I call these people "consumers". Everything they own gets quickly consumed.
It takes a lot of work to properly maintain a home. Some people should live in apartments.
Gutters fell off house a couple years ago and never replaced. Roof looks rotted in the fire area anyway. They must be oblivious to what is going on around them.
I call these people "consumers". Everything they own gets quickly consumed.
It takes a lot of work to properly maintain a home. Some people should live in apartments.
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
"Release the rat"
amazing. I'd have a hard time dealing with that mindset.
Bill
Yeah, and the animal control officer explained why they outlawed live trapping: Because they released so many rats at the park that people living by the park were calling in about rat problems. DUH!
Also a cop told me they outlawed live trapping because people were trapping neighbor's cats and doing away with them. Cats of course are allowed to run free unleashed.
"Release the rat"
amazing. I'd have a hard time dealing with that mindset.
Bill
Yeah, and the animal control officer explained why they outlawed live trapping: Because they released so many rats at the park that people living by the park were calling in about rat problems. DUH!
Also a cop told me they outlawed live trapping because people were trapping neighbor's cats and doing away with them. Cats of course are allowed to run free unleashed.
Originally Posted By: crinkles
why the big hatred for cats?
A lot of people don't like them because cats are not too considerate about car paint jobs and they kill birds, but beyond that some people just have an irrational hatred of cats and will do harm to them.
Personally, I don't mind the neighbor's cats. They clean up the leftovers we throw in the yard, lol.
why the big hatred for cats?
A lot of people don't like them because cats are not too considerate about car paint jobs and they kill birds, but beyond that some people just have an irrational hatred of cats and will do harm to them.
Personally, I don't mind the neighbor's cats. They clean up the leftovers we throw in the yard, lol.
in australia just about everyone hates them. there were no predators here before (feral) cats/foxes etc. the irony though is that the white man is orders of magnitude worse for the environment. and it is usually domestic cats, not the feral ones, that get shot by some redneck...
Originally Posted By: crinkles
...the white man is orders of magnitude worse for the environment.....
it's an invasive species!
...the white man is orders of magnitude worse for the environment.....
it's an invasive species!
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Of course that only tripps if the raccoon grounds, but if the raccoon is on wood and it does not leak to ground the circuit would act as if a toaster were in operation.
The cable/wire insulation will char enough to conduct to the ground wire present within, tripping the ground fault protection.
Carbon conducts electricity, and burning PVC insulation turns to carbon.
Of course that only tripps if the raccoon grounds, but if the raccoon is on wood and it does not leak to ground the circuit would act as if a toaster were in operation.
The cable/wire insulation will char enough to conduct to the ground wire present within, tripping the ground fault protection.
Carbon conducts electricity, and burning PVC insulation turns to carbon.
Once I put a floodlight on the side of my house leaning out the attic window. When I screwed the cover on the black wire inside got pinched and made the aluminum trip on the house live. One day on the opposite end of the house I touched the gutter on the garage roof and got a tingle. I fixed it.
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