[GSBN] Straw Bale House Fire

[Derek Roff]

A sad event, certainly.  My heart goes out to the family.

> Why  did the owner need to thaw out frozen pipes in
> March, especially in a  straw bale?

A very interesting question.  Even if there was a cold snap that 
night, temps were probably much colder on multiple nights earlier in 
the season.

I wonder if this was a vented, unheated crawl space.  Does Boulder 
County code favor vented crawl spaces?

Derek


--On Sunday, March 29, 2009 11:00 AM -0600 john rehorn 
<rehorn at frontier.net> wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> There was a straw bale home fire on Friday near Lyons, Colorado.
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12011181
>
> I'm looking into the circumstances at present.  Sympathies and good
> thoughts to the Akia family.
>
> With that said, I believe this can be an educational opportunity
> for  all concerned.  How did the earthen plastered sb walls
> perform?  Why  did the owner need to thaw out frozen pipes in
> March, especially in a  straw bale?  There is also the need to
> correct erroneous assumptions  regarding fire and sb as quickly and
> publicly as possible.  As you  all know, one bad story about one
> straw bale house can overpower a  thousand good ones.
>
> Any information about this unfortunate event is very welcomed.
> Also,  if the subject of this house crops up on your internet
> presence,  please educate the public in a good way.
>
> Thanks,
>
> John
>
> John Rehorn	
> Executive Director
> Colorado Straw Bale Association
> www.coloradostrawbale.org
> coloradostrawbale at yahoo.com


Derek Roff
Language Learning Center
Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek at unm.edu