collection lost in Grampian fire

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by lynx42

This is the result in a local shed. Not military vehicles but 3 restored Rileys and a Vauxhall and of course all of his garage gear.

This is the worst possible nightmare for any collector - a shed full of restored vehicles ablaze. I've often wondered if a sprinkler system would do any good. Inside the shed it might help reduce ignition by wetting everything down, but once the shed itself collapsed the plumbing would rupture and the spray would stop, after which the radiant heat would quickly dry everything out again and it would soon ignite. However if you put the spray system outside to protect the shed itself there may be a chance to save the whole thing. I know it's been done with houses, I remember reading about a woman in Marysville who installed an elaborate spray system under the eaves, which formed a water curtain around the whole house. Apparently she was ridiculed by some in the town but when Black Saturday came she used it and her house was completely undamaged while the rest of the town was all but wiped off the map. I'll see if I dig up the story. There are probably experts in this field so it may be worth some research.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

This is the worst possible nightmare for any collector - a shed full of restored vehicles ablaze. I've often wondered if a sprinkler system would do any good. Inside the shed it might help reduce ignition by wetting everything down, but once the shed itself collapsed the plumbing would rupture and the spray would stop, after which the radiant heat would quickly dry everything out again and it would soon ignite. However if you put the spray system outside to protect the shed itself there may be a chance to save the whole thing. I know it's been done with houses, I remember reading about a woman in Marysville who installed an elaborate spray system under the eaves, which formed a water curtain around the whole house. Apparently she was ridiculed by some in the town but when Black Saturday came she used it and her house was completely undamaged while the rest of the town was all but wiped off the map. I'll see if I dig up the story. There are probably experts in this field so it may be worth some research.

Any sprinkler system is better than not having one at all.

Ideally you want a petrol or diesel powered fire pump in a safe location ( don't rely on mains electricity ) and buried poly pipes buried underground feeding off the pump , dig the the poly pipes in about 2 ft deep , around the perimeter of your house/sheds . You then install metal galv. pipe risers from the poly pipe and have metal sprinkler heads on top of the risers ( plastic is useless in fire situations ) . The idea of the spray is to keep the radiant heat off the buildings and also put out embers . Some people even have a remote starting system rigged up to their mobile phone so the pump comes on after it is told to .

Another good idea is to buy some insulation bats and stuff pieces of these into any crevases or openings in your shed/house roof capping and flashing - block up any holes with that stuff

[motto (RIP)]

If Euen is prepared to sell the Holmes then go for it Tony. The sooner it's under cover or under restoration the better. Time is of the essence now in salvaging as much as possible and disposal to interested parties would have to be a practical solution.
Maybe a fire sale would ease a heavy burden and vastly speed up the recovery process?

David

[Dianaa]

I know Euan is still hoping to use the Holmes gear and Tony also has his hand up, but if it does become available and Tony passes, I be interested in fitting it back on an Inter. The F5 Wreckers were all built as F2 tipper chassis and I have access to one for a restoration.

BTW.Looking at the images, it seems that the plastic pallets were the fuel the fires were able to use doing most of the damage.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Dianaa

The F5 Wreckers were all built as F2 tipper chassis and I have access to one for a restoration.

BTW.Looking at the images, it seems that the plastic pallets were the fuel the fires were able to use doing most of the damage.

I think it should definitely go back on an Inter if one is available, it's just that I had thought this extremely unlikely. Even if I stuck it on a blitz I would leave it unmolested in case it was wanted for an Inter one day. When it comes to restorations I'm a great believer in things going back in their correct places!

Dianaa the photo of the Holmes intact was taken at its previous location from where Euan recovered it. Looks to me like his own storage area was thoroughly cleared of ground fuel, some it piled up against a tree in the background, and fire damage was due exclusively to radiant heat from treetop foliage. I'd say it probably raced through in a couple of minutes, only long enough to partially melt the thin aluminium tray and soften the aluminium frame, allowing the steel structure to collapse on it and cause bending. Even so it's probably still salvageable with a bit of straightening. Of course if the whole thing were steel it would have escaped with no more than scorched paint, and there's even very little of that to be seen on the Holmes, it's mostly just black soot. It's a good lesson in fire preparation for outside storage, there's even a pneumatic tyre here which has failed to ignite. I think it's a topic we should explore in this forum, I'd like to think we're not entirely at the mercy of the bushfire gods!

farm 4.jpg

[David Dunlop]

I recall a chap in the USA a number of years back suggesting that sprinkler systems be used fighting forest fires, not so much to put them out but basically control where and what they burned. I think they showed it being tried around a small group of cottages and it worked quite well.

I think the idea has also been tried somewhere to control the rate and direction of flow with lava. Iceland maybe.


David

[Tony Wheeler]

Well, I dug up the story about the woman in Marysville, as told by the woman herself to the Royal Commission into Black Saturday. I think you'll agree it's a helluva story, quite apart from the water curtain.

By way of background, Marysville was a picturesque historic town near Melbourne with a population of around 500, which was virtually wiped off the map on Saturday 7th Feb 2009 when bushfire destroyed 90% of buildings and killed 45 people, representing one quarter of the death toll of 173 in what was "the largest, deadliest, and most intense firestorm ever experienced in Australia's post-European history." Marysville is gradually rebuilding but of course little remains of the Marysville which existed before Black Saturday.

http://vol4.royalcommission.vic.gov....ex.php?pid=100

[Dianaa]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

I think it should definitely go back on an Inter if one is available, it's just that I had thought this extremely unlikely. ...
... Even so it's probably still salvageable with a bit of straightening. Of course if the whole thing were steel it would have escaped with no more than scorched paint, and there's even very little of that to be seen on the Holmes, it's mostly just black soot. It's a good lesson in fire preparation for outside storage, there's even a pneumatic tyre here which has failed to ignite. I think it's a topic we should explore in this forum, I'd like to think we're not entirely at the mercy of the bushfire gods!

However, one would always wonder if the heat would have taken tensile strength out to the metals.

I don't know if it would be a good idea to load up the gear the way the enthusiast in the pic earlier uses his for moving stuff around.

[motto (RIP)]

Thanks for the link to Judith's submission Tony. It makes for an interesting 'After battle report'. I hope never to experience anything like what she went through.

David