It happens. Not often, but when it does it seems to snowball...
Went out this am to sort out some drawn 14 x 12 frames frames for increasing the nucs to 6 frames from 3.
First box I removed was nearly full of honey, but took it anyway (gets nucs on a good footing). Then went and checked out another hive, which had loads of brood in an otherwise near-full second extra deep box, and then removed a much less full box (mostly drawn I think) from another hive, replacing with an empty drawn super.
This is where I found things had gone decidely pear shaped. I was only a matter of 40m, or less, up the hedge from the car, but when I arrived back it was burning well! Must have been lighting my smoker that did it. I was not worried about the surroundings as it was decidedly damp, but my bag of shavings may well have collected a hot ember and gone up.
There was no chance of saving anything - I considered it, but it was not safe to open a front door to reach my best beesuit and my personal belongings, secreted under, as the back windows blew out.
A passing driver had seen the smoke and thought someone was trying to top themselves as there were boards propped against the bumper (he thought they were over the exhaust! He had dialled three 9's before I appeared. We waited and steadied the traffic as it was an inferno (car was full of honey, wax (in frames), supers, a brood a roof, floors and excluders (the only non-flammable item!) and other parts and personal belongings.
Then the engine started and it trundled across the road into a hedge! Panic! It trundled into the wide hedge, turned 90 degrees, and then went along the centre for about 10-15m before jamming under a fallen tree and continued to set fire to the hedge.
Eventually the fire brigades - both Oakham and Stamford tenders turned out - dealt with the blaze. Nothing left of the car or contents except a smouldering shell.
Anyway by now I had rung my wife and told her I was 'car-less' and asked her to pick me up. She duly arrived to find my predicament, to her horror!
Things then went from bad to worse. A bee stung her on the top of her head. I scraped the sting out and told her to sit in the car (safer). A matter of a very few minutes later she got out of the car said something like "I'm not feeling very well' and promptly went out like a light. Collapsed unconscious by the car. Firemen administered oxygen and the second emergency service was called. After what seemed like an age (it was an age!) the ambulance arrived and transported her to Peterbourough, stopping, en route, to administer adrenaline.
The Hospital put it down as a severe allergic reaction, but the ambulance was summoned for a suspected anaphalactic shock. The ambulance crew arrived from Melton Mowbray, some twenty miles or so distant. She is now recovering at home, thankfully.
What a day. I went back later this pm and picked up the box of extra deeps I had forgotten about in the melee. Amazingly, it was not being robbed out by many bees.
Only just a month ago J's car was destroyed by some russian lorry driver who changed lanes on the A1 and side-swiped her rear end spinning her into the armco and then across both lanes of the carriageway.
As usual a near full tank of fuel, just been serviced and the MOT was renewed just this last week (would have expired in about another two weeks - I could have saved another £150+ if I had left it for another week!
It will be hard to replace the little pogo - absolutely reliable over the last 40k miles with only normal service item replacements in the time we have had it....
And at least J is recovering. I now need to seriously re-appraise my hobby.....
RAB
Went out this am to sort out some drawn 14 x 12 frames frames for increasing the nucs to 6 frames from 3.
First box I removed was nearly full of honey, but took it anyway (gets nucs on a good footing). Then went and checked out another hive, which had loads of brood in an otherwise near-full second extra deep box, and then removed a much less full box (mostly drawn I think) from another hive, replacing with an empty drawn super.
This is where I found things had gone decidely pear shaped. I was only a matter of 40m, or less, up the hedge from the car, but when I arrived back it was burning well! Must have been lighting my smoker that did it. I was not worried about the surroundings as it was decidedly damp, but my bag of shavings may well have collected a hot ember and gone up.
There was no chance of saving anything - I considered it, but it was not safe to open a front door to reach my best beesuit and my personal belongings, secreted under, as the back windows blew out.
A passing driver had seen the smoke and thought someone was trying to top themselves as there were boards propped against the bumper (he thought they were over the exhaust! He had dialled three 9's before I appeared. We waited and steadied the traffic as it was an inferno (car was full of honey, wax (in frames), supers, a brood a roof, floors and excluders (the only non-flammable item!) and other parts and personal belongings.
Then the engine started and it trundled across the road into a hedge! Panic! It trundled into the wide hedge, turned 90 degrees, and then went along the centre for about 10-15m before jamming under a fallen tree and continued to set fire to the hedge.
Eventually the fire brigades - both Oakham and Stamford tenders turned out - dealt with the blaze. Nothing left of the car or contents except a smouldering shell.
Anyway by now I had rung my wife and told her I was 'car-less' and asked her to pick me up. She duly arrived to find my predicament, to her horror!
Things then went from bad to worse. A bee stung her on the top of her head. I scraped the sting out and told her to sit in the car (safer). A matter of a very few minutes later she got out of the car said something like "I'm not feeling very well' and promptly went out like a light. Collapsed unconscious by the car. Firemen administered oxygen and the second emergency service was called. After what seemed like an age (it was an age!) the ambulance arrived and transported her to Peterbourough, stopping, en route, to administer adrenaline.
The Hospital put it down as a severe allergic reaction, but the ambulance was summoned for a suspected anaphalactic shock. The ambulance crew arrived from Melton Mowbray, some twenty miles or so distant. She is now recovering at home, thankfully.
What a day. I went back later this pm and picked up the box of extra deeps I had forgotten about in the melee. Amazingly, it was not being robbed out by many bees.
Only just a month ago J's car was destroyed by some russian lorry driver who changed lanes on the A1 and side-swiped her rear end spinning her into the armco and then across both lanes of the carriageway.
As usual a near full tank of fuel, just been serviced and the MOT was renewed just this last week (would have expired in about another two weeks - I could have saved another £150+ if I had left it for another week!
It will be hard to replace the little pogo - absolutely reliable over the last 40k miles with only normal service item replacements in the time we have had it....
And at least J is recovering. I now need to seriously re-appraise my hobby.....
RAB
Just so sorry that you've had such a disaster. Nothing anyone can say to help, but still have to express my sympathy and to say I do feel for you (both!)
