Fire!

I was just leaving the house at 4.00pm to go to St Girons and as I got in the car I spotted thick smoke starting to billow from Claude and Suzanne's chimney - their chimney had caught fire. I turned the car around and rushed over. Only Yves was in, or rather out, as he'd sensibly exited the smoke filled interior.

Je suis parti chez moi à St Girons à quatre heures et avant j'ai demarré la voiture j'ai aper&ccerd;u des fumes épasses et noires sortir de la chiminée de chez Claude et Suzanne - c'etait un feu au chiminée! J'arrive toutes suite à chez eurs.  Yves etait là, toute seule. 

He'd called the fire brigade in Massat, but Massat is 25 minutes away and by now flames were billowing out of the top of the chimney. I went in for a closer look - it's a large old chimney, but the fire has it's own metal flue inside that, but somehow the inside of the old chimney had ignited and I could see that there was a thickness of about 15cm of burning carbon lining it's interior, the chimney baffle had burnt through so I had a clear view. Bits of burning carbon were falling down the chimney into the interior. Quickly I closed all the doors and windows to reduce the air feeding the flames, removed all the combustibles from around the fireplace, then with the garden hose began spraying as much water as I could up the chimney. We called to the builders working on Sandrines' barn to bring the ladder and one of them climbed up on roof with another hose and began spraying water down the chimney. Claude and Susan arrived home but seemed fairly calm considering the situation.

Il est venu de appeller les pompiers de Massat, mais Massat est vingt cinq minutes d'ici et déja les flames etait à la tête de la chiminée.  Je suis entré, c'est une vieille chiminée et grande. Malgré un tuyau dedans la chiminée, c'etait la vieille chiminée qui brûlait.  Des grands parts de charbon flambée plongaient au interior.  Rapidement j'ai fermé toutes les portes et fenêtres, bougé les trucs inflammables de la chiminée et puis avec un tuyau de jardin j'ai commencé de projèter de l'eau dans la chiminée.  Nous avons demandé les deux entrepeneurs qui travaillent sur la grange de Sandrine de ramener l'eychelle, et Sun est monté sur la tôit avec un deuxieme tuyau.  Claude et Suzanne ont rentré, mais ils ont resté calme, malgre le situation.

At about 4.40 the fire brigade arrived and took over with their much more powerful hoses and it was probably 5.15 before the flames were out and windows and doors could be opened once more.  By now several villagers had also arrived having seen the fire engine race through the village. Drenched (having been at the bottom of the chimney) I decided to head for home, dry off and check my own fire!

À cinq heures moins vingt les pompiers sont arrivé, meme avec leurs tuyaus plus puissant il a pris trente cinq minutes de plus avant l'incendie a éte maitrisé.  Des Aleutians sont arrivé, ils ont entendu le claixon.  Moi, j'etais trempé donc j'ai rentré et verifié ma chiminée!