A video feed from your house you'd never want to see

May 11, 2016 8:01 AM

As the Fort McMurray fire burned down their house, they could watch it happen on their indoor security camera.
posted by ShooBoo (60 comments total)

This is fine.
posted by glonous keming at 8:08 AM on May 11, 2016 [33 favorites]

This is terrifying. Also, great job smoke alarms, going off only after the entire kitchen is completely engulfed in flames.
posted by daisystomper at 8:09 AM on May 11, 2016 [15 favorites]

I could not watch this.
posted by Mezentian at 8:13 AM on May 11, 2016 [12 favorites]

heartbreaking.
posted by blob at 8:15 AM on May 11, 2016

80,000 people driven from their homes by a gigantic, climate-change fueled fire and barely a mention in the US media. This is one little glimpse of something genuinely terrifying.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:15 AM on May 11, 2016 [13 favorites]

Amazing that the power lasted as long as it did, with (I imagine) the entire neighborhood already in flames.

Those poor fish.
posted by bondcliff at 8:16 AM on May 11, 2016 [37 favorites]

There was an anecdote in a CBC interview with evacuee who called up his ISP to find out if his home and business were still standing. They could ping the modems in both locations, which he took to be a good sign.
posted by figurant at 8:22 AM on May 11, 2016 [10 favorites]

barely a mention in the US media.

You got mentioned here.
I was surprised we sent no help.

80,000 people driven from their homes by a gigantic, climate-change driven fire

88-89K was the last number I heard, and you can't prove global warming had anything to to with it! (Because Harper axed your science chums!)
posted by Mezentian at 8:23 AM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

You got mentioned here.

To clarify, I'm an American.

Also, I'm aware that Canada could be nuked and most people here would barely be aware of it - but I did find it shocking to have a climate refugee situation of that scale going on and for it not even to be substantively covered in the NYT until almost a week after it started. Doesn't bode well for the huge writing on the wall making the needed impression.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:27 AM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

The fish are making me sad.
posted by Kitteh at 8:29 AM on May 11, 2016 [21 favorites]

Some good news: It looks like 90% of the homes were saved, in part by bulldozing a few non-burning homes to protect whole neighbourhoods. CBC Radio did a fascinating interview with firefighters this morning that you can listen to here.

Trudeau turned down offers from other nations to help.
posted by clawsoon at 8:29 AM on May 11, 2016 [9 favorites]

heartbreaking.
posted by terrapin at 8:32 AM on May 11, 2016

oh no the fish :(

wow, my stomach completely knotted up watching that. I need to build my bugout bag, I'm ready to get in my car and leave right now.
posted by instead of three wishes at 8:32 AM on May 11, 2016 [6 favorites]

Oh, no no no. Those poor people, and poor fish! And, dear lord, what a thing to have to watch, helplessly, at a distance. Technology today has so many unexpected and strange outcomes.

(I tried to watch but I can't. A house fire is pretty much my greatest fear, but apparently I'm not ready for desensitization therapy yet.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:38 AM on May 11, 2016 [5 favorites]

First I saw the fish tank, and thought, "Poor fish." Then I started looking around. Stuff, stuff...OK, heartbreaking, but stuff can be replaced, I wonder if that open box is photos or something. Then I saw the beer sitting on the end table. Oh the humanity!

Imagine having to leave your home that quickly...I have a hard time processing what that must be like.
posted by Chuffy at 8:51 AM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Horrible to watch, no doubt, but it's just stuff (i'd bet the fishies were safe in baggies somewhere). Looks like minimal loss of life in general. homes can be rebuilt, and the upside is, it will be a long time before that area will burn again.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:53 AM on May 11, 2016

i'd bet the fishies were safe in baggies somewhere

Sorry to break this to everyone: "He adds he also feels bad about the two clown fish left in the tank..."
posted by Kabanos at 9:07 AM on May 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

As an aside, illustrative of the dangers of smoke. Just watch how it builds down from the ceiling, starting as a wispy thin layer at the ceiling and within minutes building down to a deadly internal cloud.

Number one reason for getting the hell out of burning buildings and staying out, and why firemen are as awesome as 4 year olds believe they are.
posted by C.A.S. at 9:08 AM on May 11, 2016 [14 favorites]

Of all the things fish have to worry about, you have to imagine them looking out their tank at a wall of flame advancing and thinking to themselves, "Seriously?!?".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 9:15 AM on May 11, 2016 [30 favorites]

I had to bail out because of the fish. I'm not a fan of watching anything die, really. Even fish.
posted by tavella at 9:41 AM on May 11, 2016 [6 favorites]

I got a "There Will Come Soft Rains" chill watching this.
posted by Glomar response at 9:43 AM on May 11, 2016 [10 favorites]

Even if a home survived intact, I can't imagine how pets locked in a house could manage so long.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:44 AM on May 11, 2016

All the feels.
posted by acb at 9:54 AM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Therefore, never send to ask for whom the bell tolls...
posted by slogger at 9:57 AM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Even if a home survived intact, I can't imagine how pets locked in a house could manage so long.

I've seen more than a few stories of random strangers breaking in to Ft Mac owner's houses (at their request) to retrieve pets.
posted by specialagentwebb at 9:57 AM on May 11, 2016 [8 favorites]

When I noticed the fish tank I had to quit watching.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:01 AM on May 11, 2016 [6 favorites]

And this is why I always leave a window open when I go away, just in case. (I have mammals, not fish.)
posted by jeather at 10:12 AM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

The firefighters in the interview above said that in between their shifts they rescued pets, pretty much all of whom were very glad to see them.
posted by clawsoon at 10:16 AM on May 11, 2016 [17 favorites]

Seems like an allegory for the times.
posted by bongo_x at 10:20 AM on May 11, 2016

Two WWE talent from Canada are running a gofundme campaign to help victims (looks like all funds go to the Canadian Red Cross).
posted by bonje at 10:29 AM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

That's a gut wrenching video... Regarding pets, if anyone is curious, a number of them have been rescued including a "beer-loving pig."
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:31 AM on May 11, 2016 [9 favorites]

This has been a leading story on NBC Nightly News for at least a week, flipping back and forth between Trump and tornadoes in climate change denying red states.
posted by Ber at 10:49 AM on May 11, 2016 [5 favorites]

I'm aware that Canada could be nuked and most people here would barely be aware of it

North Dakota Sportsmen's Weekend Ruined

Those poor fish.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:53 AM on May 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

I wish I could link to it, but yesterday on Instagram I saw a pic of the cabin of a commercial airline filled with big dogs and their humans, the poster said two Canadian airlines had allowed evacuees to bring their pets right along with them. It was so wonderful!!!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:54 AM on May 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

Beat me to it Ber, but yeah, NBC nightly news has been covering this since I first heard about it here.
posted by LizBoBiz at 11:01 AM on May 11, 2016

I've seen lengthy stories on this on CNN.

I literally sobbed watching that video. I can't even imagine what it's like to watch it when it's your own home.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:02 AM on May 11, 2016

That is one of the most awful things I have ever seen.
posted by inconsequentialist at 11:16 AM on May 11, 2016

the canadian red cross was also tweeting asking people to give directly to them not via gofundme. i think gfm takes a big cut. and also no guarantee it will get to red cross.

Ah, thanks, I've never used gofundme. I just saw the link in my Twitter feed and figured I'd pass it along.
posted by bonje at 11:30 AM on May 11, 2016

OMG THE FISH WTF I HAVE TO WATCH THE REST OF THIS IN HOPES THAT SOMEONE WILL RESCUE THE FISH FUCK NO THEY DON'T I HAVE TO GET BACK TO METAFILTER RIGHT AWAY TO SCREAM ABOUT THE FISH Oh thank goodness other people have done this already to my satisfaction

Besides the fish, this is one of the creepiest thing I've ever seen on the internet. Something about just watching a beautiful cozy house, with that little fire just gradually creeping in on the left side, the embodiment of evil, no one anywhere can stop it....yikes.
posted by Melismata at 11:34 AM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was worried about the fish.
posted by milk white peacock at 12:24 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

The canadian red cross was also tweeting asking people to give directly to them not via gofundme. i think gfm takes a big cut. and also no guarantee it will get to red cross.

Yet we are asked to assume donating to the Red Cross means that money will help the victims.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:54 PM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

From what I've heard, the Canadian Red Cross is wholly distinct from the American version, and is generally competently administered with a record of effectively delivering aid with a minimum of overhead.

There was that whole thing in the 90s though where it came out they were knowingly allowing HIV and Hep C tainted blood into the medical system. But that cost them the blood donation racket, so...
posted by [expletive deleted] at 1:09 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

From the YouTube comments: "That poor unfinished beer!"
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:16 PM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you're wondering what's happening to the money donated to the Canadian Red Cross: $50 million of $67 million donated by Canadians so far will be transferred to individuals who have registered with the Red Cross. That includes $600 per adult and $300 per child of emergency funds, presumably transferred to bank accounts electronically.
posted by apcmwh at 3:24 PM on May 11, 2016 [4 favorites]

Came here to link Beer Loving Pig the Triumphant, but Ashwagandha beat me to it.

Sad friends of fish, here are some happier soothing pet rescue items

Hundreds of abandoned pets rescued.

Pets and people share West Jet and Canadian North Air flights out of Fort Mac.

Secret pet rescue mission by Fort Mac SPCA

donate to Fort Mac SPCA in memory of the fish here.
posted by chapps at 3:36 PM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

The unfinished beer suggests the situation is like that of a poor fellow I once met in San Diego who became a refugee in the hotel where I was vacationing. The firefighters knocked and said to get out RIGHT NOW, do not hesitate for anything, just get the people in the car and GO. Five minutes later his house was in flames. Wide area fires can be like that when they shift direction suddenly; there is no warning and you leave immediately or die. It's quite possible the video stream started as they were pulling out of their own driveway.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:53 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Wow, I was literally just sitting here thinking "If I had an hour to leave my home, what would I take?" I was thinking I would grab my red granny cart and fill it with some pictures, my laptop, some jewelry with sentimental value. Medication. Obviously my dog. And then I thought, "well that wouldn't take an hour, so I guess the next thing I'd do is take pictures of every room in my home, and the shelves and drawers, if I could. For insurance.

I had no idea that when people said they had to leave their homes immediately, that meant in 5 minutes. I guess it would just be my dog, then.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:18 PM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

The total and immediate evacuation was heartbreaking, but also impressive.

Here is another video from a doorbell camera of firefighters trying to save a burning home.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

For the longest time those two windows seem to be looking out into two completely different worlds.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:13 PM on May 11, 2016 [7 favorites]

There were videos like this from fires in the blue mountains (Australia) a few years ago. Starts off with you thinking, wow, that's so smokey (like, maybe 10 times worse than what settles in the city) didn't realise it was so intense and then within tens of seconds it becomes a roaring black insanely intense firestorm; just unimaginable horror. People are literally running for their lives. I used to think tornadoes were worse with the unpredictability but at least you get some heads up they are likely.
posted by kitten magic at 5:18 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Was looking for creatures. Saw there was a fish tank. Clicked away.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:23 PM on May 11, 2016

This reminds me of nothing so much as the staged "how fast a room fire can get to flashover" videos that we watched during search & rescue training (a representative example). Except it's somebody's actual house, and somebody's actual fish. Terrifying and sad.

And I'm so glad to see all those linked stories about evacuees and firefighters managing to rescue other people's pets. Bless them all.
posted by karayel at 6:28 PM on May 11, 2016

There is smoke in the hallway.
posted by bendy at 6:50 PM on May 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's terrifying how long it takes that smoke detector to go off. If this had been a regular house fire, at the point when there was a similar level of smoke in the house, wouldn't it be possibly difficult to get out?

It seems like smoke detectors should go off at the point where you could still plausibly grab a fire extinguisher, not at the point when you have to break a double-paned window because you can't reach the door.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:56 PM on May 11, 2016

The smoke detector also can't go off every time there's a kitchen mishap or everyone will just ignore it.
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:30 PM on May 11, 2016

The smoke detector should go off every time there's a kitchen mishap. Both because the amount of smoke a kitchen mishap can cause is consistent with the amount in the early stages of a fire and because kitchen mishaps are a common source of fires. And you don't ignore it. You think "oh crap, my stuff is burning" and go check on it. At least that's what I do.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:34 PM on May 11, 2016 [5 favorites]

I think the threshold for smoke detectors is set assuming the fire starts inside the house, so there will be a lot more smoke in the early stages. The simple fact of human nature is that if the detector goes off at every stove mishap, people will ignore it. A real fire is much bigger than a stove mishap and so the threshold is set higher.

In this case though the fire is coming from outside, so the smoke doesn't get into the house at all until there is a massive inferno that has breached the house's interior, and at that point it takes only moments for the house to go from clear to full of toxic smoke. In a more typical use case with the fire starting inside the structure there would be a lot more smoke for the detector to detect before the flames got so pervasive and aggressive.
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:39 PM on May 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

oh yeah, I don't mean it should be going off when the fire is outside. But there is A LOT of smoke inside the house by the time the alarm goes off. I would think it would take a non-trivial fire that it would be difficult to escape to create that much smoke. Yes, assuming a fire that started in the house.

And holy crap, if there's a fire on my stove, I want to know about it, even if it's just a little fire.

But on reading again, am I understanding correctly that there's a smoke density+ time element to the smoke detector trigger. So once it detects trigger-level amounts of smoke it waits to make sure the smoke lasts 10 or 15 seconds or whatever before freaking out about it? I guess that would make sense.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:43 PM on May 11, 2016

The smoke detector also can't go off every time there's a kitchen mishap or everyone will just ignore it.

A "little kitchen mishap" went from "oh shit that's some smoke" to OH MY GOD MY ENTIRE FUCKING KITCHEN IS ON FIRE in less than 30 seconds, fyi.

The smoke detector started going off at the very beginning, and if my roommate(at the time, this is a stupid college kid story) had immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher we didn't have and blasted it right when the flames barely started we would have been fine.

I've never gotten mad that they went off when i was cooking since. Hell, if it stopped i would throw it out and get a new one.
posted by emptythought at 9:42 PM on May 11, 2016

wow. Great post. Heartbreaking for the fish as everyone has noted. I'm in Australia and have seen bush fires from lots of different angles but never that one.
posted by esto-again at 2:09 AM on May 12, 2016