I would have thought anything we can do to minimise the risk is worthwhile. Or am I being over dramatic?
My neighbour, with whom I get on with very well, is rather fanatical about keeping his block-paved driveway clear of weeds. To that end, he has a weed burner. At certain points his driveway abuts my large front lawn. There are shrubs under my front window adjoining the lawn. I park my old petrol car on the drive next to the lawn. Next to that is my beloved 150 year old oak tree which is a magnet for wildlife.
I was sitting in my living room reading, with the windows wide open, when I could hear the intermittent whooshing sound and smell from the burner. I went outside to find him burning off what weeds have managed to survive in this heat. I noticed orange sparks smouldering at the edge of my bone-dry lawn over an area of about 30 cm x 20 cm.
By this time he had moved to a different part of his drive and had his back to where the sparks were glowing. I stamped them out and got a bucket of water to throw over them.
He apologised profusely and said he hadn’t been thinking.
Meantime, I was thinking what if I hadn’t noticed what he was doing? What if I has been busy somewhere else in the house? What if those sparks had caught? What if the fire had quickly spread across my lawn to the shrubs under the window and flames had caught the curtains at my open windows? What if my car had caught light causing a petrol explosion? What if my old oak tree and all the life it sustains had been destroyed?
It isn’t only BBQs or cigarette discarders we need to worry about but anyone with a flame.