https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/cohoes-fire-inferno-sparked-by-amateur-bladesmith-mayor-says/

 

So this happened in my neck of the woods yesterday. 

Ouch!

Does that show have a "Don't try this at home" disclaimer? Not that it would have made a difference. There will always be some that "forge ahead" without knowledge or due caution.

Actually, Shady, i dont think the show does. 

Thats not really all that far from me either. Thats terrible. Just goes to show that rules such as no open burns within city limits are implemented for a reason.

Dear Lord.

Another day, another piddler. Super lucky no one(barring taxpayers' wallets)was badly hurt. These things really should not even happen in the information age. Nothing is idiot-proof though.

What really surprised me was the felon's age... I don't know anyone in their 50s who doesn't know how to treat fire.

At least to put it out before it gets out of control to that extent.  Being NY, we will likely get new regulations and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a ban on smithing activities in certain areas.  I can see how an unattended coal or gas forge might lead to an uncontrollable fire, but  not while you are actively working in the forge.  What a schlemiel.

This might beat every other newbie's forge I have seen yet. When a brake drum is not big enough, use you entire neighborhood.

"my mama always said that stupid is as stupid does"

it said barrel of oil and sword making so I can easily imagine it was a plastic barrel that melted from the flame flair up at quench,  from there burning oil all over the place isnt to far a jump in logic.  Easy to do when people wont think.  A few weeks ago here we had a post with a plastic bucket for the quench oil, this is why I said that was  NOT smart.

22 minutes ago, Steve Sells said:

it said barrel of oil and sword making

Steve,

OK, that makes a bit more sense.  I only read the article, didn't get to watch the video.  Thanks for the additional info.

That Bozo may have taken the whole "flaming  interrupted quench" thing they appear to encourage on FIF as being a normal part of heat treatment as well as foolishly using a plastic quench bucket.  They even had one contestant, an apprentice, overheat his large quench barrel to rolling flame on one episode, then finally cover it to put out the potential bonfire after what seemed to be 5 minutes.  Then he wondered why he didn't get full hardness during testing (bet his mentor, whose shop he most likely was using, also wondered why he had trashed the huge barrel of quench oil as well...).

This is a perfect illustration for one of the reasons why we keep saying that proper swords are an order of magnitude more difficult to make than 8" hunters.

I seen no metion of oil in the above link, and it said he was trying to "bend" metal. Still wouldn't want to be him right now.

I had a student who thought that if 140 degF oil made for a good quench then hotter *must* be better.  Had it hotter than the planned draw temperature for tempering and then wondered why the blade was softer than wanted...

14 minutes ago, jeremy k said:

I seen no metion of oil in the above link, and it said he was trying to "bend" metal. Still wouldn't want to be him right now.

Additional info at this link: https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/11/30/firefighters-battle-large-blaze-in-cohoes

Also no mention of oil or a plastic barrel there, just a burn barrel (?) that he setup close to his house in high winds, apparently trying to reach forging temperatures.  To me this seems as related to FIF activities as jumping off the roof with a towel tied around your neck does to the old Superman program.

I think you can expect a media statement to be more than slightly inacurate in certain details, While Steve's scenario is certainly indicated, it's not inconceivable that any number of scenarios may have occured, stray ember for a charcoal forge, poorly connected gas fittings, untidy work area kindling a fire which could well of gone unnoticed untill it caught hold, even electrical faults. Couped with poor fire fighting provision (on his behalf, not the cities) and a failure to assess and act correctly and promptly. On a less windy day the damage may well have been no where near as severe. These things often have a combination of factors that turn a simple accident into amajor disaster.

Thankfully no lives were lost and hopefully the injured firefighter recovers quickly. We've recently seen the tragic outcomes of fire here in the UK, apparently triggered by an electrical fault compounded by a series of missmangement steps by the authorities.

cant find the link were I saw quench but I only wondered if it was a plastic barrel, nothing  about that in the story

1 hour ago, Will W. said:

Actually, Shady, i dont think the show does.

Really?? Wow... In this litigious age that we live in, that truly surprises me!

Now the idiot that started the fire will probably sue that television show, saying "I just was doing what they showed on TV."

We play with fire as a mater of corse, it's easy to forget that she is a dragon waiting to grow and rampage. This is why the administrators, moderators and members are so keen on harping about safety. 

 

I hope it's a case of x,y,z vidioes in YouTube. That's were the real idiots outrank the wise

Not long ago, in one of the Forged in fire episodes, one contestant chose a plastic tube to quench a sword. It failed because the bottom melted . 

10 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

I hope it's a case of x,y,z vidioes in YouTube. That's were the real idiots outrank the wise

We had a now banned you tube piddler that didnt seem to understand our push for safety perhaps he will see this and realize...  lol who am I kidding he wont listen here either, and will think that can not happen to him,  never mind....

As Latticino mentioned, they will probably add more regulations or it will probably put a stigma on people around there trying to forge safely. Not good when one idiot ruins things for everybody( let alone burns half the town down). 

A salutary reminder of the importance of fire safety and responsible smithing. I know I'll be doublechecking my own setups a bit more carefully now. 

And avoiding Cohoes.

Unless said lawsuit evolves, and x,y,z vidio makers get sued. But I agree peaple seem to think that their right to be idiots extend to advising other to be idiots as well. Then when the hammer meets the testical they want to pass the blame. 

We might want to add the folks who lost their homes, the fire fighter who ran tord the flames and the legislators who will feel a need to act (not that their aren't laws that probably address this) to our prayer list.

22 minutes ago, Shady McGrady said:

Really?? Wow... In this litigious age that we live in, that truly surprises me!

Now the idiot that started the fire will probably sue that television show, saying "I just was doing what they showed on TV."

In my opinion the opening of the show should have a disclaimer stating: 

Warning! These Bladesmiths work with extremely hot fire and metal, and are supervised by experts and a team of safety personnel. The activities shown are dangerous, and should not be attempted without proper equipment and safety gear. 

Or something to that effect. But no such disclaimer is ever shown. And from a reputable (as far as television goes) company like the History Channel nontheless.

Maybe then people would think twice about just picking up the craft with no knowledge, or teachers, or safety gear, or properly assembled equipment, etc.

Now, this is in no way saying that this accident is the History Channel or FIF's fault, that is solely on the man who started the fire.

1 hour ago, Latticino said:

Being NY, we will likely get new regulations and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a ban on smithing activities in certain areas

I hope you are wrong, but fear that you are correct. 

Well at least i know that i (probably) wont be affected by any new regulations. All of my nearest neighbors are bovine in nature, and they dont seem to mind my smithing. 

1 minute ago, Will W. said:

All of my nearest neighbors are bovine in nature, and they dont seem to mind my smithing.

Lucky you, I'm in a residential neighborhood and am surprised the neighbors haven't come at me with pitchforks...

Well if you get an order to make 150 pitchforks commisioned by one of your neighbors... I would think twice about accepting that.

With the popularity of Forged in Fire I wish the History channel would say at the start of each show the dangers of smithing and then direct them to the History channel website for more info on how to get started smithing safely. Of course they would have to do work to put together this info so would it happen?