House Fires Kingstone

Just drove past. All estate cordoned off and thick black smoke billowing into sky.

 

4 houses apparently, hope all are safe

 

Latest I’ve seen is that 10 houses have been evacuated, 5 on fire. Not sure how accurate that is but shocking….

 

We were evaluated here in Sprotbrough as fire raged through the fields and railway embankment at the back of the whole street, upwards of 120 house evacuated and only 1 fire engine able to attend due to others attending numerous other incidents, lucky most of the men on the street stayed and fought the fire with garden hoses to save the houses, it was mayhem

 

https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/23369/emergency-services-on-scene-following-blaze

 

Sounds really scary @Sprotbrough Red . Do you know if everyone got out ok?

 

It sounds like, the community really pulled together there was a family just up from us who have loads of dogs and they were screaming to get them all out, lucky the neighborhood got them all out and safe, there seems to have been a lot of property damage but mainly garden sheds and conservatories melting.
I'm sorry for all the wildlife there was an abundance of birds in the trees but the trees are all burned
It's all so sad

 

Great to see so much money donated already.

 

Just a few minutes walk from the fire station but due to tory cuts there were no appliances available till it was far too late

 

1960's built Steel framed houses with Asbestos cement cladding panels and coloured aggregate finish and plasterboard internal wall lining. Polyurethane "cavity" insulation.

 

There's some of those in Chequerfield (Pontefract). Supposed to be a quick fix due to WD Austerity and to have been demolished and rebuilt. They still stand today.

 

Sorry Pal, they're a different House-Type. Late 940's BISF's (I think) with tin cladding to the first floor and thin sand/cement rendered panels to the Ground. The one's in Kingstone are Hawthorne Leslie's.

 

Just a little update after yesterday's fire here, one of my biggest worries was the impact to wildlife and sadly my worries were realized, it's been very quiet with birds today, I usually get quite a few different types (great, blue and long tailed tits, and loads of dunnocks) in garden but today it has been eerily quiet, barring a solitary blue tit, a male and female blackbird pair and a couple of pigeons nothing can't even hear bird song anywhere all along the embankment, it so sad especially as there give me so much pleasure, luckily most had fledged a couple of weeks ago so hopefully have just flown to safety, I'd a couple of quirrels too and no sign of those either, it's so sad.
The few glimmers of hope have been that there's a fledgling Robin who follows me about in a morning when I'm water garden I've even named him Rob (not very adventurous I know) but this morning no sign so thought he'd gone or worse but just as I was finishing he popped up and say on a plant pot, just I was happy was an under statement, also last night I intently listened for the hedgehog that visits every night and though I didn't see him / her I could hear scuffles from the back so presume it's survived too, thank God.

I know it probably doesn't mean much to some but for me they are my happy place and my support network through tough times.

 

Glad to hear there is some wildlife around still. Thinking about it, I'd expect birds to initially survive as they can fly away from it speedily. It's small mammals and insects that are probably hit worse and sadly that impacts on the bird population.

I was having a chat with someone yesterday and it veered towards biodiversity and whether its valued. We were coming at it from a business and political avenue and our consensus was that when decisions are made, biodiversity, nature and wildlife is low on the scale of consideration.

It's tragic to think there is a distinct possibility that in this generation or the next, significant numbers of birds, insects and mammals will be lost, yet there doesn't seem to be a significant groundswell of support in the public consciousness.

 

So true, the regular bowl of feed was out last night for the hedgehog but it was untouched this morning, I've yet to check the camera footage but it's not hopefully.
I've seen a few dunnocks returning this morning but to sit and listen to the quietness where before there was birdsong is heartbreaking.

Now it's passed though some on the street have now turned to look for someone to blame and are directing that mainly at network rail for not cutting all the trees and vegetation back apparently they did some forestry work about 6 years ago but left some logs probably for nature and habit which personally I think is fantastic but I definitely seem to be in a small minority sadly.

 

Give it a little time and the birds will return and vegetation will kick in again. The park we back onto was butchered about a year ago by a council contractor. For a few weeks it was so silent, but given time they came back, though maybe not quite in the volume as before.

Of around 25 households that also back onto it, I was the only one who kicked up any sort of fuss. Nobody else was bothered and I was the only one who turned up for a meeting in the park to discuss its future maintenance. And since then, silence.

The fox population in the little wild area nearby has dropped and I'm pretty sure someone has tried to poison them.

Very sad to hear that some are finding blame in nature. If nature could apportion blame, I'm pretty sure it would be targeted at mankind.