In a stunning development, Safety Officer Bruce Semple (age 52)
has been asked to turn in his safety belt, badge, and hard hat.
Inexplicably, this venerated man of caution dumped the cold ashes
from his fireplace into the dry leaves in his backyard.
When the fireman asked why he did not use the ash can that was right next to the fence,
he sheepishly confessed that he was in too much of a rush
(did not have time to remove the bag of charcoal, store it in the garage,
and then put the fireplace ashes into the ash can) and had decided to take a shortcut.
He took his licks like a man, listening quietly as the fire chief lectured him
about the protocols of proper fireplace ash disposal.
According to the chief, studies have shown that fireplace ashes can
reignite as many as 40 hours after they have been removed from the fireplace.
The chief also mentioned that the squad at the Cabin John station are
partial to chocolate chip cookies.
Interestingly, improper disposal of fireplaces ashes by the previous owners
caused a significant fire that damaged the southern end of the house at
11600 Toulone Drive back in the 1980s.
