Dear Editor,
The Comox Valley is special! Once again I have been reminded of this. On a recent Sunday, a young man was walking by my house and saw smoke pouring out from under the front porch. It is amazing he noticed because our street, Beaufort Avenue, is having the sewer replaced and the street was lined with huge machinery that might logically divert anyone鈥檚 attention. However, not only did this young man notice the smoke, he acted. He knocked on the front door, indicated the problem, grabbed a hose, and as he aimed it at the fire quickly phoned the fire department. They responded immediately and took great care to douse the fire and dig through the soil to be sure the fire was completely out. I am quite sure that it was due to this young man鈥檚 care and quick response that saved my home from destruction. I do not know this man鈥檚 name but I do wish to thank him from the bottom of my heart for saving not only property but perhaps lives should the fire have burned unnoticed.
Of course one wonders how such a fire could ignite! According to one of the attending firemen, assistant Chief Jim, it appears to have originated in my garden when there was a chemical or biological reaction in organic plant materials, perhaps some peat, in the soil which self combusted generating enough heat to self ignite.
Who knew?! I share this with you so that you might avoid a serious fire. I cannot help but ask myself why I had not noticed a problem was developing? I think there were possibly some signs I missed. In the one to two weeks before the outburst of flames, I did ask myself if I had on occasion smelled smoke but did not check outside, only the kitchen and found no problem. Apparently these self igniting fires often do go undetected in the early stages and smolder under ground for varying lengths of time.
I share this story so that all may be aware, pay attention to our environment and should we notice even subtle signs of a problem, like the smell of smoke, seek out the cause.
Let鈥檚 keep our Valley safe by extending our awareness beyond our own property and be ready to help our neighbour like the young man walking past my house on a Sunday afternoon. Alerting a neighbour to a possible danger should never be considered interfering in another鈥檚 business but a civic responsibility as together we build a safe and caring community.
Joyce Relyea
Comox
