What is the strange smell?
I was working late in the plant nursery when I became aware of a strange smell. It was like something was burning, but a weird smell of burning. Then I noticed it was foggy outside the orangery. In itself, that was not surprising since we just had a heavy thunderstorm. But the combination made me react. Moreover, behind me, the sky was clear. It was only foggy in front of me.
I ran out to investigate. Firstly, I though our house was on fire. After I, to my great relief, discovered that no smoke came from the house, I looked towards the forest. Maybe something was burning on my neighbour’s property? But, as I ran to find out more, I saw what was causing the smoke. The tractor digger we have borrowed to dig the foundation for the new building project was the cause.
My neigbours were the first fire fighters
There was no fire yet, but heavy smoke was coming from the digger, and I heard the engine trying to start up. I tell you, it was spooky. I’m no mechanic, so I called my husband, then the emergency number. My husband called the neighbours and the owner of the tractor digger. Now, events happened fast.
I was on my way to disconnect the battery, as my husband instructed, when I discovered open flames. By that time, my neighbours arrived and attempted to put out the fire with the small household fire extinguishers. To no avail.
The fire fighters had to come
We waited for the fire fighters and the first one on site tried a larger fire extinguisher. Neither he could put out the fire. It was not until the large fire truck came, that they managed to put an end to it all. They had to spray a substancial amount of water into the digger before the fire finally went down. By then, the cabin of the tractor digger was totally ruined.
The tractor digger wont be digging again
Below is the sad sight of the tractor digger. The interior is totally charred. I don’t lknow if the machine cam be repaired. After all, I don’t think the engine is damaged, and apart from the house, the main parts are still undamaged. But, that is not for me to decide.
My main problem now is, how do we get it away from here?
