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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / January 2006Keep Squirrels *away* from your propane/gas lines:
Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line POSTED: 1:02 pm EST January 20, 2006 BEMIDJI, Minn. -- A woman is dead and a man is hospitalized after a squirrel became lodged in a pipe between the furnace and the chimney, causing propane fumes to enter a rural home. The Hubbard County, Minn., sheriff said John Bennett and 67-year-old Maxine Tischman were found lying on the floor of the home Wednesday afternoon. Tischman was pronounced dead at the scene. Bennett, who is in his 70s, was taken to a hospital. Sheriff Gary Mills said investigators found the squirrel lodged in the three-inch pipe after locating strong propane fumes in the area near the furnace. <who knew squirrels culd be so deadly?>  SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)© email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep >Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > ><who knew squirrels culd be so deadly?> Squirrels can also cause house fires, as I found out the hard way back in 2002. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >>Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Squirrels can also cause house fires, as I found out the hard way back > in 2002. You have to remind yourself sometimes that they really are just a cuter version of a rat. Jo We call them tree rats down here in the south > We call them tree rats down here in the south Speak for yourself! ;) I love my squirrels and chipmunks! >> We call them tree rats down here in the south > > Speak for yourself! ;) I love my squirrels and chipmunks! I love them to they make good stew :-) When you are driving they make great targets when they try cross the road they are worth at least 5 points :-) ( just kidding about the car part but squirrels make good stew) >> We call them tree rats down here in the south > > Speak for yourself! ;) I love my squirrels and chipmunks! I do, too. I use squirrel proof bird feeders because squirrels eat so much I can't afford the seed they would consume. They get lots from the ground that the birds throw out, though, and I have some nut trees -- it's hilarious to see a squirrel run by with this huge hickory nut (unshelled) gripped in its mouth. We had chipmunks in Ohio, but I haven't seen any here (East Texas). MaryL <snip> > Squirrels can also cause house fires, as I found out the hard way back > in 2002. I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages caused by squirrels. MaryL ><snip> >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >MaryL One room of my house was formerly an attached garage, and, although I didn't know it at the time, wasn't insulated. It was a wooden stud wall with an outer brick layer, and plasterboard on the inside, but no insulation. I was having problems at the time with squirrels chewing their way into my attic, and one of them apparently moved down into the uninsulated wall, then chewed on an electric cable. The resultant house fire did enough damage that I had to live in a hotel for 3 months while the house was being repaired. I lost over 1800 books in the fire, most of a thirty-year collection, and my cat died in the fire. She ran and hid, and I was unable to get her out of the house, so she died of smoke inhalation. After I was able to move back into my house, I adopted two older cats, Katie and Cinders. Katie died of cancer about 9 months later, having apparently already been ill when I adopted her. Cinders is still doing well, and is 10 or 11 years old at this point (I don't know exactly). SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >><snip> >>> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > doing well, and is 10 or 11 years old at this point (I don't know > exactly). That's frightening. Does insurance cover that type of damage? I ask because I know homeowner's insurance does *not* cover damage from animals gnawing on wood (such as damage to window sills), but what about consequential damage such as fire? I certainly *hope* that is covered! Your description of losing your cat in the fire is one of the things I have always feared most -- the fear that a true emergency (such as a fire) would occur and that I would be unable to find one or both of my furbabies. That would be absolutely devastating. MaryL <description of my house fire snipped> >That's frightening. Does insurance cover that type of damage? I ask >because I know homeowner's insurance does *not* cover damage from animals [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >occur and that I would be unable to find one or both of my furbabies. That >would be absolutely devastating. The fire marshal's report stated that the fire was caused by electric wiring in the wall, judging by the charring of the wood being more pronounced around the cable. Attributing this to the squirrels is my own reasoning. Yes, the insurance covered the house repairs, my lost possessions, and my three-month hotel stay (I was in a hotel with cooking facilities, so it was effectively a one-room apartment). Having to leave my cat behind after she ran and hid wasn't an easy decision. The smoke was heavy enough by the time the smoke alarm woke me that, had I stayed in the house a minute or so more to find the cat, I probably wouldn't have made it out alive myself. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria > <description of my house fire snipped> > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > me that, had I stayed in the house a minute or so more to find the > cat, I probably wouldn't have made it out alive myself. I am sorry you were forced to make that decision and some purrs for your past loss > Having to leave my cat behind after she ran and hid wasn't an > easy decision. The smoke was heavy enough by the time the smoke > alarm woke me that, had I stayed in the house a minute or so > more to find the cat, I probably wouldn't have made it out alive > myself. I remember you posting this. Such a hard thing to have to live with. I fear the same thing, that especially Bonnie, would be hard to capture in such an emergency. It takes so long to catch her just to go to TED, that in a fire situation, I know I wouldn't have the time to chase her. :( In a fire in my previous residence (an apartment complex) my cat at the time, Marley, hid inside of the living room couch during the whole ordeal. The fire wasn't in my apartment, and the smoke wasn't too too thick, and he was ok. But when it was time to vacate, I had no idea where he was. He stayed in the couch the whole time the fire department put out the fire; doors wide open and all. SignatureCheryl > <description of my house fire snipped> > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > me that, had I stayed in the house a minute or so more to find the > cat, I probably wouldn't have made it out alive myself. That is such a horrifying thought. I even had a dream years ago (when I still had my first cat) where I was climbing, climbing, climbing trying to get up a hill to rescue my cat who was trapped in a burning house. That was many years ago, but the deam was so horrifying that I can still remember it with complete clarity -- unlike most dreams, that seem to fade from memory within a very short time. MaryL >One room of my house was formerly an attached garage, and, although I >didn't know it at the time, wasn't insulated. It was a wooden stud [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >fire. She ran and hid, and I was unable to get her out of the house, >so she died of smoke inhalation. That was a terrible accident. I was very saddened that that happened to you and Annabel Lee. > I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages > caused by squirrels. > > MaryL When I worked at the newspaper, our whole city block lost power when a squirrel somehow fried a transformer. But I love squirrels. Our rental house has a giant native pecan tree, and I always gather several buckets of them and bring out here, and get unshelled raw peanuts from the peanut farmers. The little doo-doo heads bury most of the pecans, because now I've got little pecan trees coming up all over the place. I had a pet squirrel many years ago, and they are just darling little critters. They have personality-plus, and show affection just as much as a cat. (But this was many years ago -- I would never keep or recommend anyone else to keep one, unless you're a wildlife rehabber or something) Sherry >> I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power >> outages [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Sherry I don't recommend them as pets, either. In fact, I don't recommend *any* wild animals (large or small) as pets. I also don't recommend hand feeding squirrels -- first, because they occasionally will bite "the hand that feeds them" and second, because it isn't good to encourage them to lose a certain fear of humans (since some humans will gleefully kill or injure the little furries). On the other hand, I do thoroughly *enjoy* watching squirrels scamper among my shrubs and trees. They get lots of seed that the birds throw from the feeders. I also have some hickory trees, and squirrels will often be seen running with a *huge* hickory nut protruding from their mouths (hickory nuts still in the shell look much too large for a little squirrel). I find lots of holes in my flower beds where squirrels have hidden their "bounty." Many people dislike seeing all that digging, but I just look at it as part of nature. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e > But I love squirrels. Our rental house has a giant native pecan tree, > and I always gather several buckets of them and bring out here, and get > unshelled raw peanuts from the peanut farmers. The little doo-doo heads > bury most of the pecans, because now I've got little pecan trees coming > up all over the place. My grandfather (in Minnesota) used to buy a big sack of raw peanuts every year, just to feed the squirrels from his back porch. Every squirrel in the neighborhood must have known him - several had nests in the elm trees in his yard - and many of them would come up and take their peanuts out of his hand. (But they were still wild animals, not pets - he may have fed them, but he didn't try to domesticate them.) > I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages > caused by squirrels. > > MaryL When I worked at the newspaper, our whole city block lost power when a squirrel somehow fried a transformer. But I love squirrels. Our rental house has a giant native pecan tree, and I always gather several buckets of them and bring out here, and get unshelled raw peanuts from the peanut farmers. The little doo-doo heads bury most of the pecans, because now I've got little pecan trees coming up all over the place. I had a pet squirrel many years ago, and they are just darling little critters. They have personality-plus, and show affection just as much as a cat. (But this was many years ago -- I would never keep or recommend anyone else to keep one, unless you're a wildlife rehabber or something) Sherry >(But this was many years ago -- I would never keep or recommend anyone >else to keep one, unless you're a wildlife rehabber or something) Several years ago, my sister and brother-in-law were doing yard work at their house and a baby squirrel got somehow separated from his mother and thought that my BIL's suede shoe was its mother. It just wouldn't leave him alone, so they had to capture the tiny critter. Fortunately, my sister found a place that would finish raising the baby and train and release him back into the wild later. Jane - owned and operated by Princess Rita (who now has a red dot greebling!) > I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages > caused by squirrels. > > MaryL When I worked at the newspaper, our whole city block lost power when a squirrel somehow fried a transformer. But I love squirrels. Our rental house has a giant native pecan tree, and I always gather several buckets of them and bring out here, and get unshelled raw peanuts from the peanut farmers. The little doo-doo heads bury most of the pecans, because now I've got little pecan trees coming up all over the place. I had a pet squirrel many years ago, and they are just darling little critters. They have personality-plus, and show affection just as much as a cat. (But this was many years ago -- I would never keep or recommend anyone else to keep one, unless you're a wildlife rehabber or something) Sherry > <snip> > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages > caused by squirrels. Also chipmunks - apparently they both like the insulation used to cover the wires in underground conduits. >I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages >caused by squirrels. This happened on my block. One lazy weekend morning there was a big BOOM, and the power went out. When I went out for a walk in the afternoon, I noticed the charred squirrel underneath a transformer. >> Squirrels can also cause house fires, as I found out the hard way back >> in 2002. > >I hadn't heard that, but there have been numerous reports of power outages >caused by squirrels. Yes, I've seen that in action before. A squirrel got into a transformer and chewed the wrong wire and blew it out. Took out half the power of my hometown. I was driving into town at the time for a meeting and saw the entire skyline light up, twice, and thought I'd be coming over the hill to see a smoking hole. Nope, town was there, just half of it had lost power. The squirrel was just a pile of furry ashes by then. Jane - owned and operated by Princess Rita > Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > squirrel became lodged in a pipe between the furnace and the chimney, > causing propane fumes to enter a rural home. The 2nd winter I lived in this apartment, when it got cold in October I lit a fire in the fireplace. This was about 7PM. Within minutes the place filled up with smoke. I had all the doors and windows open. I removed the battery from the smoke alarm by the master bedroom. Pulled the smoke alarm down in the front hallway only to discover it was hard-wired in. I placed an emergency call to the apartment manager. I was standing there fanning a magazine at the front smoke alarm. I managed to get the burning log into a bucket and outside so I could finally close the doors. By this time it was 11PM and I had to be at work at 7AM. I was not happy. My (then) senior dog was not happy. The manager sent a chimney sweep over the next day who discovered the mesh cap on the chimney had been breached by squirrels. They'd built a nest in the cap which resulted in the chimney being totally blocked, hence the smoke filling the place. The sheetrock above the chimney is still blackened. I've not found a way to clean it off without it smearing or being totally painted over. Jill >> Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >> [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Jill What color is the sheetrock? If it is white, you could try a spray can of Kilz. That is used to spray as a base and prevents stains (such as water stains) from bleeding through new paint. However, it is also fairly close to the original white color of sheetrock (and to the paint color used on many ceilings). It would not be a perfect match, but it would probably be much better than smoke damage. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e >>> Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >>> [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] >many ceilings). It would not be a perfect match, but it would probably be >much better than smoke damage. I suspect that painting the sheetrock will be the only solution. The soot is probably in every slight dip and crevice in the surface, so you probably would never be able to wipe 100% of it away. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >>>> Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >>>> [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > soot is probably in every slight dip and crevice in the surface, so > you probably would never be able to wipe 100% of it away. Yes, that's the reason I suggested Kilz if the landlord is not willing to paint. Kilz is a spray that "covers" the stain -- somewhat like paint, but intended to prevent stains from bleeding through. It is not a product that is intended to be rubbed off. I used it on the ceiling of my garage when I moved in because there was a visible water stain. It covered the stain almost perfectly (but that would depend on the actual color of the existing paint). Kilz is white. MaryL >> I suspect that painting the sheetrock will be the only solution. The >> soot is probably in every slight dip and crevice in the surface, so [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >MaryL Kilz also comes in containers other than spray cans. I painted my bathroom ceiling with it after I had a water leak in the bathroom upstairs. Purrs and Hugs, Nan and the furkids A wise man talks because he has something to say; a fool talks because he has to say something. >>>>> Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 66 lines] > > MaryL The sheetrock is white but I have a 22 foot ceiling in that room. I have no place to move my furniture should they send in painters. I've never heard of Kilz; I will look for it, thanks. Jill >>>>>> Woman Dies After Squirrel Clogs Propane Line >>>>>> [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] > > Jill If they send painters in, the painters should have drop cloths to protect furniture/carpets. Kilz is GOOD STUFF! I used it to cover nicotine stains on the walls/ceiling from before I was banished outside to smoke. Worked GREAT! SignatureSam, closely supervised by Mistletoe >The sheetrock is white but I have a 22 foot ceiling in that room. I have no >place to move my furniture should they send in painters. I've never heard >of Kilz; I will look for it, thanks. I used to paint aprtments apartments after tenants moved. As Mary and Sam have already said, Kilz does a good job covering stains and keeping them from "bleeding" through new paint. (And like Nan said, it comes in regular paint cans as well as spray cans.) SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot with loving memories of Rocky (RB) stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html |
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