That's Life

So those two panels had different wood stain to the rest Woo?????

Come on mate its been hot, but not that hot.

Spontaneous combustion of five fences in one day???

Glad you got it sorted out quickly.
Paint the new panels a different colour

 

I'm sceptical about the spontaneous combustion theory too. Walking back from the shop today, I noticed two wheelie bins had been burnt out. I'm inclined to suggest it was arson but it could have been an accident. These two bins were right next to a wooden fence. The bins were literally gone. Just a mess of molten plastic on the floor and the wheels, so they'd obviously blazed unchecked. The wooden fence they were right up against was scorched but fortunately had not blazed.

 

That's the problem, clue. Sceptics (Meant in the nicest possible way; no offence intended)

The firemen stated that this was their 5th fence fire *that* day. So, on the one hand it does suggest it is localised. But, that brooks a couple of viewpoints:-

a) is it localised due to potential arson? Maybe!
b) is it localised due to the *heat* of that area, at that time, on that day? Maybe!

Woo has introduced an angle I certainly wouldn't have considered:

c) is it localised due to a particular brand of wood stain? Possibly, purchased from a localised firm? Maybe!

All the firemen did was state a fact: this is their 5th fence fire of the day. No judgement; no indication of cause. Nada! Just a statement based on their daily work load.

We're all speculating on the potential cause, but, without knowing all of the five fence fires facts ( see that use of alliteration there! Fair wore me out in this heat that did! ) but none of us know for certain - or fact - the full circumstances of all five fence fires.

It may well be arson.
It may well be coincidence.
It may well be the microclimate of that area.
It may well be spontaneous combustion.
It may well be the wood preservative.
It may well be aliens.
It may well be the judgement of God/Jehovah/Allah/Jedhi/cockroaches/other beliefs do exist
It may well be we will never be privy to the "actual" cause - *if* it is ever investigated.


What we *do* know is, a fellow GC member has experienced this; re-told it, as they found it; fixed the problem; shared it (and isn't casting aspersions!); just getting on with life as best they can/see fit

 

I too wondered if it could have been arson as Woo was about to have the judges round to view his garden for the competition that he has entered.

Sometimes you only need a discarded piece of glass to cause problems on a hot day.A friend of mine in our village has an arched mirror on her garage wall and when i went to visit her couldn't understand why there was a patch of grass completley dead on her lawn.I soon figured out that it was the sun shining onto the glass and reflecting back on to the lawn.It first dried the patch of grass out until it was dead.I mentioned it to her and she agreed with me but has decided not to do anything about it as she likes the mirror on the garage wall

If I had been the one to have found the fence panels burning like the neighbour did i would have gone and got some water in a bucket to try and put it out,unlike the neighbour who just stood there watching it until Woo came back.

Glad to hear everything is sorted now Woo and Good luck in the comp

 

To be fair though, sometimes a fire might be substantial enough such that a bucket of water isn't even going to touch it. Worse, if you're not sure what is burning, a bucket of water can actually spread the fire. Lets say that at the foot of the fence there is a container of some flammable liquid, like oil or anything oil based. You chuck water on it, the water forcibly displaces the burning liquid launching it everywhere. The fire brigade sometimes do a public demonstration of what happens if you panic and throw just an egg cup full of water onto a chip pan fire. They make sure the crowd are well back, and the container of water is on the end of a massive pole. When they pour it the fireball is more like an explosion than a fire. I know in Woo's case it wasn't a chip pan fire and there is no mention of any flammable liquids involved, but the neighbour may not have been able to see for sure that that was the case. They did the right thing to just observe, make sure nobody was near it, and wait for the fire brigade to sort it. They have all the expertise and all the gear to deal with whatever they find.