Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Absolute stupidity: burning down the band office

This is topic Absolute stupidity: burning down the band office in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 03-05-2014, 02:01 PM:

I have a fax to send to the administration office of one of the local Indian reserves. I tried sending it on Monday morning but all I got was "ring-ring-ring", no answer from their fax machine.

Ok, I thought, it's out of paper and nobody has noticed yet. Since this fax isn't particularly urgent, I'll try sending it again tomorrow.

So now it's Tuesday morning, lets try again: "ring-ring-ring". Nothing. Interesting. Lets phone the band office and ask them what happened to their fax machine. "ring-ring-ring-ring". Nothing at that number either. This is odd too, but sometimes they close for someone's funeral, so I'll just call them again tomorrow (i.e. today).

When I phoned this morning the person who answers the phone there actually answered. "Hi, did you know that your fax machine isn't answering the phone?" "Yeah, we don't have a fax machine any more. In fact, we don't have anything at all any more. Someone burned the band office down. I'm in the gymnasium with this phone and a card table."

Now I'm pissed off on their behalf. She told me that nothing was stolen or anything like that, someone just decided to burn it down.

Well, that reserve is pretty isolated, so the only people who would do that are the people who live there and get services from that office; why burn it down? It just seems like the ultimate in absolute idiocy. That band has a reputation for being one of the "tamer" ones, too, and the Chief is one of the most truly competent people that I know. She told me that the tribal police are looking into it but I'll be rather surprised if they manage to catch the culprit unless he starts bragging about it somewhere.

It's a nice bunch of folks who live there. They didn't do anything to deserve that.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 03-07-2014, 12:28 PM:

If it was arson, then possibly an insurance job, or someone wanted to settle a score with the property's owner? That having been said, there was an article in the LA Times a few months back reporting that unexplained house fires are becoming more common, and that firefighters are increasingly believing that small device chargers (for cellphones, tablets and the like) placed on top of flammable materials - piles of paper, that sort of thing - are to blame. Very frequently, the seat of the fire turns out to have been close to where these things were left operating.

The exhaust flues of clothes dryers are another big culprit (after reading that article I cleaned out ours, and the gross and disgusting crap in there had to be seen to be believed!), but there wouldn't be one of those in an office building.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-07-2014, 02:11 PM:

There was a fire here in town the other day started by one of the new-fangled "CFL" light bulbs. Fortunately the fire dept got there fast and there was minimal damage.

When I got home for lunch yesterday and turned on the kitchen lights, I heard one of those things going "tick-tick-tick-tick" rapidly and kind of blinking. So I took it out of the socket.

So much for being able to leave on a night light, I guess.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-07-2014, 02:19 PM:

Already obsolete: now LEDs.

Newer fixtures don't even have a socket. Louis

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 03-07-2014, 07:18 PM:

CFLs and LEDs for domestic lighting have a circuit board in the base of the lamp which contains rectifiers and a capacitor, and those generate heat. So we've basically got the same problem as with low voltage device chargers, especially if your CFL or LED is in a recessed ceiling fitment and the heat gets trapped.

There again, a traditional filament bulb generates a whole lot more heat, and they're not considered an unacceptable fire risk.