Mill Fire

[poliphilo]

My mother-in-law rang around nine. She wanted to know what all the black smoke was about. I hadn't noticed it myself, so I went outside- and there it was boiling up behind the housetops. Not only smoke, but flakes of fire. A passer-by said it was the mill belonging- "excuse my french- to that robbing bastard". We knew exactly who he meant. 
 
Ailz and I got into the car and went to have a gawp, but the streets were clogged, so we gave up- and drove home- and I set out again on foot to find a viewpoint.

A crowd had gathered at a point halfway up Honeywell Lane- where we could look through the gates of an adjoining property right into the heart of the blaze. By the time I arrived the walls were gone- and the fire was roaring away among the girders. Every time a really tall flame went up the crowd cheered. 



This morning the air smells of char, the newspapers assure us no-one was hurt- and rumours are flying.

Comments

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

The wrath of God is wondrous to behold :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

One of rumours is that a generator blew up after having been rigged to steal electicity from the grid.

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Trouble at t'mill?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Big trouble! :)

[mamarose.livejournal.com]

A few years ago I was visiting a friend and the lumberyard in her town burned. When puffs of flame lit the night sky, the gathered crowd gasped. Upon reading of your cheering to a similar situation I just had to follow your link. What a terrible person! Do you suppose he set fire to the place for the money? I'm sure that's amongst the rumors flying about. I hope that's not the case, I hope this is some sort of natural justice being played out.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's possible it's an insurance job- but would he really be that stupid? Another possibility is that his enemies did it- God knows he's got enough of them. A third is that it's a a perfectly natural, honest-to-goodness accident.

[mamarose.livejournal.com]

I imagine that when fires burn so hot, that figuring out how it happened is a challenge, but hopefully there will be answers.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I expect the forensic people will come up with something. They usually do.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I followed the Wikipedia link, too. Apparently there were attempts to torch his residence in the past.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's right. And it seems the police investigation got nowhere...

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

This morning the air smells of char...

Karma's calling card. :-)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

But then you have to consider that 200 people have been put out of work- just like that- in an area that already suffers from high unemployment...

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

That's the bad side of when bad people get paid back for their deeds; the little guy also suffers.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

For all the cheering that was going on last night, this was bad news for the local community.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Do you think it was the owner, having a non-paying business torched in order to collect the insurance? Just a thought...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's possible, but I doubt it. Firstly because- with his criminal reputation- he'd be unlikely to get away with it and secondly because- so far as we know- his kitchens business was doing rather well- in spite of all the bad publicity.

[sovay]

A passer-by said it was the mill belonging- "excuse my french- to that robbing bastard". We knew exactly who he meant.

I just hope no one else is going to pay for his karmic payback . . .

Those are beautiful pictures, though: both the fire and its aftermath.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately some 200 people have lost their jobs.

I'm glad you like the pictures.

[sovay]

Unfortunately some 200 people have lost their jobs.

I am sorry.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

That orange picture is MARVELOUS, Tony.

(Our news this morning is that a major tire recycle lot is on fire, black tarry smoke pouring into the sky...it may burn for days, even with rain; the warehouse, also on fire, was filled with tires as well as old tires piled in the lot.)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The picture is severely cropped. It wasn't anywhere near that close :)

We drove past the site yesterday (30/4/09) and the fire had finally stopped putting out smoke.