Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Lafayette, Tn
Posts: 701

Called my dad up this afternoon to see if minded bringing his big mower over to cut my grass since my DC is still in the shop. No problem right? WRONG!! He came over and got started, finishing on one side of the drive and made his way down by the pond. Me and my son were riding the golf cart around the yard and was fixing to take a trip up to the mother in laws but I told Cale we would make sure he didnt have any problems going around the pond. His mower is twice a big as my chopper bulk wise and I wanted to make sure he didnt get off in the pond as it is very easy to do with 7 different seeping springs feeding it the traction get very squirrelly on the banks. Well when he made the turn I saw fire and he had no idea. He thought we were messing with him so I had to basically cut him off in his tracks and and get him off. As soon as he stopped the mower flames came up all around the sides around him but he made it off. I ran my first 100 yrd dash in 18yrs to the garage to get the fire extinguisher and it wasnt there so I done another 100 yard dash out to the shed and no luck there either, then I remembered I let it go with the boat when I sold it and never got another. None of the neighbors were either home or had one so all we could do was sit and watch it burn. We were afraid to go in with water buckets till the gas tank went and when it did it didnt exactly do what we expected. Instead of exploding it just basically blew the gas cap off and threw a torch about 20 ft high. After that we went in and finally got it put out. My dad has the shortest temper there could possibly be and I kept waiting for the second explosion so to speak but it never came. For the first time in my 35+ yrs something bad happened to that man and he never spoke a word. Just sat on the cart and puffed on his cigar. He didnt have to say anything cause I could see it in his eyes. The Beast as we called her wasnt the prettiest or the youngest by no means but there was a lot of blood and sweat keeping her running and in an instance it was all gone. I could also see that since he retired he does all his mowing while his wife is at work with no one around and it could have been much worse, it could have been his yards turn. Sorry this was so long and had nothing whatsoever to do with coon hunting but if anyone thinks for a minute that God dont watch out for us then I'd be the first to beg to differ. Heres a couple pics I took afterwards.

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Jeff Driver

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Registered: Oct 2006
Location: Ellerbe,NC
Posts: 574

God watches over us more than we give credit for. He could have been home alone when this happened and been hurt real bad. The beast can be replaced but your father cant. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

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Keith Smith

IN MEMORY OF W. R. 'RANSOM' RAINES

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Registered: Feb 2004
Location: West Kill, NY
Posts: 2045

I was a little worried what I was going to find in this post...
Glad to hear your dad is fine and you got to witness him speechless! Bet that 20 foot torch was something to see. Bet it gets taller as more coonhunters retell the tale for you... Sounds a lot like you had something to do with getting him off the beast in time. I sure hope he appreciates that.
Please look at the wreckage and see if you can tell what started the fire--and remind dad that sometimes sweat and spit need to be put into maintenance rather than just repairs! Also a reminder that smoking a cigar while haying or mowing a lawn with dry grass isn't always the wisest policy.
And for gosh sakes, buy yourself 2 new fire extinguishers! You never know when they'll come in handy! Its a lot easier for God to help those who help themselves... : )

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esp

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Lafayette, Tn
Posts: 701

Well the cigar wasnt lit till well after the mower was and I went to wally world about an hour later and bought new fire extinguishers. Couldnt tell much cause by the time it cooled off it was already geting dark. I can tell you this, it got so hot in during the fire that the radiator completely melted and ran down the bottom (thats the shiny part you can barely see in 2nd pic runnin on the ground), as well as the whole battery, not just the plastic, and the copper wiring on the alternator. What was really wierd was with the fuel burning, black smoke from the oil burning as well as the foam seat, and whatnot, none of that smelled to me. What I picked out as the smell was all the wiring burning and all I could think of was 16yrs ago when my moms house burned down from deteriorated or faulty wiring, however you want to put it. Thought I had that under control and can remember plain as day telling mom to call the fire dept back and tell them I had it out but before I could finish saying it the ceiling dropped down on me and I screamed for her to get everything she could in one trip which basically amounted to an armload of clothes from the laundry room and I threw my 3 guns (all I had back then) that there is nothing in this world Id take for through my bedroom window. Now every time I get a whiff of that distinct smell thats what I defer back to. Couldnt stop the burning then, couldnt stop the burning now and I guess thats why its nearly 2am and Im still on this dang computer and cant go to sleep.

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Jeff Driver

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 19374

Very glad your did is fine and yes, very lucky and watched over. It's funny how we sometimes feel we just HAVE to stay to be sure it's going to be OK.... If you hadn't been there he may have tried to put the fire out and been badly burned... or killed.
Glad you got the new fire extinguishers right away!
Take care, HappyHunting, Heather

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