ELI5 to a foreigner – how do these pallet bonfires not damage the residences around them?

44 comments
  1. Image was posted on a forum as a “look at this crazy thing”. I don’t understand how zoning and OSHA-equivalent permissions could possibly allow this to exist.

    Like I had a small fire in a workshop near me and the smoke plume started dropping plaster over my garden that then had to be collected by the fire service because the debris was potentially toxic.

    How does the smoke not immediately choke the houses around it? What happens if it burns unevenly and it tilts to one side then tips? July 4 fireworks sent LA’s air quality into the red, how does something similar not occur? I mean yay it’s wood and iron nails, not plastic and styrofoam, but it’s still not air you can breathe.

    I just read that someone already died falling off one of these, even though any construction work requires scaffolding and/or harnesses. I get that there’s a risk of political violence if they’re forcibly dismantled but do people really not suffer through these?

  2. As of right now it’s been dismantled completely… the majority of folks in the estates around it risk fear of intimidation and retribution if they don’t agree to bonfire.

  3. Oh they do damage the houses. However you get front row seats when one of them falls off it so swings and roundabouts I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  4. I was having a chat over on the NI sub last night about the fire dynamics of these things. Basically they’re an open blast furnace and the heat alone generated will give anyone within about 200 feet the equivalent of a severe sun burn. If there’s a wind feeding it it could potentially create a localised cyclone sending burning pallets flying into the rooftops. From a scientific perspective I’d actually like to see how one of these things burns.

  5. They do damage local properties. Windows melting is a big problem. Some areas local residents will board up the windows for the night. Sometimes the local residents help with this. If its really bad the fire brigade will be on standby to hose roofs. This is a terrible waste of their resources on what has to be their busiest night of the year.

    Youll probably find a bonfire has been on that site for many years. Back in the day the local kids used to collect for bonfires, it was about the only thing kids did together as a community, in a country that had fuck all and every penny was spent on preventing protestants and catholics trying kill each other.

    Now we have peace, and in some ways some prosperity. The whole bonfire scene has become a huge dick swinging contest. Now you see the massive behemoth bonfires, they never wouldve got that big back in the day. And if its on an historic site its likely to be close to houses.

    Many efforts have been made with local community organisations to make the bonfires safer. And a lot have complied, though some havent. Its one of those things where theres no easy answer unfortunately.

  6. Do the people building these bonfires get paid? How are they funded? Who pays for the pallets?

  7. What is the purpose of this? Like, what are they trying to achieve? I’m sorry if this is a stupid question, I’m not from Ireland

  8. Luck up until now and I’ve seen lads out hosing some homes near by online years back. These things seem to have been way way bigger this year

  9. They do

    [https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/bonfire-group-offers-thermaldeflectors-to-help-safeguard-nearbyhomes-40544346.html](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/bonfire-group-offers-thermaldeflectors-to-help-safeguard-nearbyhomes-40544346.html)

    >Bonfires present hazards to nearby houses, with intense heat from pyres in various areas in recent years causing windows to crack, roofs to set alight and firefighters having to hose down properties.
    >
    >In a letter to residents, MBA said: “Moygashel Bonfire Association would like to take this opportunity to offer all residents, within a reasonable thermal proximity of the bonfire, heat protection for their windows and property.
    >
    >“This protection will be in the form of customised thermal deflectors for all vulnerable windows, fitted by a qualified tradesman. MBA views this intervention as a mechanism to reduce the negative effects caused by the annual 11th night celebrations and will allow all local residents to enjoy celebrations without the worry of damage to their property.”

    [https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/eleventh-night-bonfire-cracks-windows-10788114](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/eleventh-night-bonfire-cracks-windows-10788114)

    One house recorded an internal temperature of 90 degrees — Celsius!

  10. The house’s glass regularly breaks with the bonfires. Usually the fire brigade are out dowsing the houses to help prevent them catching fire

  11. It’s simple really. They could hold a meeting, and ask

    “Does anyone has an issue with the bonfires?”

    “Well my house is next to”

    **BANG**BANG***

    “DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE BONFIRES???”

  12. In the next couple of days I’m sure there will be plenty of videos and news articles of homes destroyed by the bonfires

  13. Yeah can’t wait for this UI lads, imagine having that thing burning in your back garden and putting up with the hate every year. There was a video on the NI sub showing a burning bonfire and tricolours while people shouted “burn them fenian bastards”. Someone needs to eliminate this kkk culture.

  14. Residents have been warned in the past to stop building houses so close to bonfire sites. I shit you not.

  15. I’ve seen fire brigade units constantly spraying house/flats with water while it’s burning while simultaneously being attacked by those “enjoying” the fire.

  16. Its all about intimidation, so causing worry and anxiety among locals is all part of the ‘celebration/ceremony ‘ or whatever you want to call this primitive remembrance ritual about a battle fought in the 17th century..

  17. Theres a similar tradition near my hometown in the Netherlands (the hague) that has been banned because a couple years ago it started “raining fire” because of it. Two towns have this competition to build the tallest fire, and they became taller and taller each year. Cars and bikes melted, buildings caught fire, and especially old people were getting ptsd flashbacks. Our mayor quit because she was ashamed of how the situation was handled. Under the right weather circumstances a fire can be absolutely catastrophical.

  18. The NIFRS does do risk assessments on them, and when they are a legitimate danger to nearby houses, they will take preventative measures, such as soaking the windows of nearby houses before the bonfires are lit, and so on. In some cases they would definitely prefer that particularly egregious ones not get built at all: but they don’t have that kind of authority.

    Source- dad is an NIFRS Firefighter, and has had to do this before plenty of times.

  19. They do tend to. If they’re doing it right the closest houses are boarded up for protection- but a lot of the bonfire builders really don’t care about property damage

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