General Chat

Firefighters are warning people about the importance of keeping crystal furnishing out of direct sunlight after a crystal door knob sparked a fire which damaged a house in South London.

The fire was started yesterday morning when the sun’s rays refracted light through the door knob and onto a dressing gown hanging on a door which caught fire.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/house-fire-in-south-london-was-started-by-a-crystal-doorknob-9593853.html

Yes have been several reports of magnifying mirrors setting things alight in the past too.

and a certain phone shaped building that causes plastic trim on cars to melt

my windows are too dirty to cause fires :-D

Mine too AnnCardiff, when I had net curtains and took them down to wash them windows looked like the curtains were still up :-D

love it - a girl after my own heart :-D :-D :-D :-D

Vases in windows or glass jars can cause fires if the sun is directly on them then onto furnishings,also spray cans left in a bathroom window or any window,,,,,, can explode if in direct line with hot sun.....

Oh! Dear I have a whole door panel made from crystal it sheds beautiful rainbow colours on the wooden floor . Hmm! :-S

No crystal knobs in my house :-D :-D

So many dangers in the home that we are often unaware of or haven't considered. I knew the one about mirrors and glass, wasn't there something about those crystals people used to have suspended in the windows too?

Also I have been warning people about leaving aerosols on window sills for years, stil they do it tho, I see as I pass houses the many hair sprays and such stuck in full view and heat from the sun.

Lizx

this thread has just reminded me of another I was planning to add.

Yikes!

With the sun in Oz, I wouldn't dare leave an aerosol on the windowsill!

No mirrors in our house get direct sun. The front door has two opaque glass panels, but they are under cover, they may get a couple of hours sun in the afternoon.

My cousin in England gave me a lovely hanging crystal, she said to put it in the window...... I'm sure it would look lovely, until the house burned down.

:-)

My neighbour's intruder alarm started to sound every day at the same time for almost a week.
The same sensor in her lounge was being triggered
The alarm company couldn't find a fault but we thought the timing was strange.

At the end of the week when she was home, she waited and watched the sensor to see what was happening.,
A beam of sunlight filtered through the venetian blind, hit off a mirror and was directed straight onto the sensor.

She only needed to adjust the blind slightly to deflect it.

The sun reflecting off the glass of a picture or a mirror can also cause a fire.

......and everyone I know tuts as I keep my blinds closed when I am out - and quite often in hot weather :-D