I stopped to take a leak at the local (very small and sleepy) mall. I pulled up to the small side entrance where the bathrooms are. The walk to the door is flanked by brown mulch. It's hot today, and breezy. Great fire weather. Someone apparently tossed a still smoldering butt into the mulch. I parked, and saw a little plume of white smoke billowing from the mulch bed.
At this point, I would like to point out something that seems really obvious in hindsight: when you have a situation like this, it's a lot easier to keep the embers together in one spot. Well, I didn't do that. I thought I could get them up on the concrete and separate them from the rest of the kindling. That was a mistake. A store employee happened by. "Is it a cigarette?" she asked. "I'll be it was a cigarette."
"Probably," I say.
"I'll call someone," she said, and walked (walked) back inside. I run to my car to get the bucket of (soapy) water I have with me, because I wash windows for a living. 10 minutes go by with me stomping out any flames that appear, and another older women comes out. "You all set?" she asks.
"No, I'm not all set! The mulch is catching fire! I need water. Maybe the janitorial staff." My thinking was that this was an easily solved problem. We just needed a couple dozen gallons of water to douse the mulch bed. The janitor probably had a water key for the hose bib that was just inside the door. I could use my bucket and soak the mulch.
"We don't have a janitor at [store]." I just looked at her, probably visibly annoyed. "Maybe security?"
"Call security." And I continue stomping out the embers. At this point, the smoldering mulch is spread around the mulch bed pretty well, because I wasn't thinking clearly at first. I just saw fire and reacted. So I'm playing a game of whack-a-flame. Another 20 minutes of this, no sign of mall security. I run into [store], and the lady from before is calmly doing something behind the counter. "I just need some water," I said.
"Well, our bathrooms are all the way at the other end of the store..."
"No, I need something that can put out a few gallons of water quickly."
"Oh, like a hose or something?" She turned into Consuela, "Oh, no, no, no..."
"I'll just call the fire department." And I jog back outside.
Anyway, I called the fire department. They showed up, and doused the mulch bed. In doing so, they uncovered a used needle. My state has a heroin problem. After the explosion of crack in the 80s, the CIA had to find a drug they could push on white people. Opiates were the way to go, it seems. Invade Afghanistan, seize poppy fields, and BAM, opiate epidemic in white America. Related: At the intersection of the mall road with the state road, there is a median where there is always one of those "homeless" people with a sign asking for gibs. And, at least in my (northeast) area, it's always white people.
In hindsight, I should have just doused the burning patch of mulch with my water bucket outright. That probably would have done it. Instead, it turned into a big thing, because even though I acted, I acted in a way that didn't really help (at first). Fire can consume acres in hours. Whether they are wooded, or urban, fire doesn't care.
LPT #1: Take some time to read up on the different types of fires, and how they are dealt with. In the home, baking soda is a nice quick remedy. Having a little fire extinguisher in the kitchen is a really good idea, too. It's a bitch to clean up, but it beats losing your home.
LPT #2: Smokers, this is for you. Simply throwing your cigarette on the ground does not automatically mean it will go out. Ideally, quit altogether, using whatever method you need. Failing that, make sure the cherry is completely out before you leave. Inside, outside, doesn't matter.
LPT#3: Don't give money to those people holding signs. I guarantee it won't be going toward anything to make their situation better.
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[–] TheKobold 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
What a stupid cunt... how hard is it to find help. Fuck people are stupid. Good job saving those morons lives and livelihood.