Comments | aventurine: outwitted once again, mr. reaper!

aventurine

outwitted once again, mr. reaper!

Feb 08, 2004 23:58

so it turns out that smoke detectors work after all.
i fell asleep on the couch watching television tonight, and i was woken up by a loud noise that sounded like a small gun shot. i looked around the room and everything was totally normal, so i dozed off again. a short while later, the smoke detector is going off. i wake up and look around but i ( Read more... )

Comments 12

roses_rejoice February 8 2004, 21:28:16 UTC

glad it worked! i always wondered if wax could set things on fire. my dear friend mileshedgehog used to be a great one for falling asleep with candles going, they dripped quite a bit of wax and the times i slept at her place i was afraid to go to sleep for fear it would land on paper or cloth and set it alight (though i wasn't sure if that was possible). so i would wait for her to go to sleep, then blow all the candles out without waking her, then I could go to sleep without worrying. actually candles just worry me to the point where i usually burn them in the sink.

aventurine February 8 2004, 21:35:17 UTC

i'm actually surprised that it worked so well. i always assumed they only worked after the fact, like when you could already see or smell smoke. but i couldn't tell anything until i noticed the candle. it was a square glass container and it was that two of the corners had blown out and the bottom was basically detached.

the wax didn't set everything on fire immediately, but it made it smolder. i think it would've probably been fine if it had just been a wax issue, but i think with the bottom being damaged it was close to the point of the actual flame burning into the table.

soulofagypsy February 8 2004, 21:54:59 UTC

glad you escaped unscathed!

aventurine February 9 2004, 07:57:43 UTC

thanks :)

jjjiii February 9 2004, 03:39:30 UTC

I'm glad you had the presence of mind to check out the source of the disturbance.

aventurine February 9 2004, 07:58:32 UTC

actually, i didn't. the first time i heard the *pop* noise, i ignored it because i didn't see anything obvious, and went back to sleep!

jjjiii February 9 2004, 08:06:24 UTC

I'm going to have to point this out to angelhipster, as she likes to burn those aromatic candles that come in big glass jars, and leave them unattended for long periods of time.

Re: aventurine February 10 2004, 07:58:15 UTC

see kristel's comment below. apparently, candles are safe if you pay attention to them.

surrealtime February 9 2004, 07:13:11 UTC

I know the smoke detectors in our house work just fine. They get a work out whenever we cook something in our new stove. Must be the smokey haze it creates if we don't turn on the exhaust fan.

aventurine February 9 2004, 07:59:05 UTC

sometimes that happens here, but in that case the smoke is always visible and you can smell it.

kristel February 9 2004, 09:21:08 UTC

From my understanding they also work if there's a major change in heat temperature.

I've had candles blow up on me before.. I guess when they get to about 1/4" you're supposed to toss them... and there are recommended burning times depending on the candle.

aventurine February 10 2004, 07:56:30 UTC

oh!! so that's what the problem was. i've been wondering why this particular candle had issues when i've never had a problem before. i'm g oing to have to watch out for those burning times. hrm. and i think now i will only burn brand-name candles from places like bath & body works, so if something ever does happen to me, i'll at least be able to sue them.

and i've been meaning to contact you re: sports. i'm still interested.