*Where's the fire?
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Steel swarf gives off a harmless, odourless vapour. It's .normally invisible but an Exeter haulier has just discovered— rather shatteringly—that it can be seen in some circumstances. He parked 5 tons of the stuff under a street lamp; a conscientious passer-by phoned the fire brigade—who thought the vapour was smoke and pumped 1,000 gallons of water over his precious vehicle.
That was late on Saturday night, and after the incident he explained the true situation to the police and fire brigade. Guess what? On Sunday night three fire brigades arrived at the scene and did their watery best.
The driver, who had parked the vehicle locally because he had a 4 a.m. start to make, was so fed up that he put his clothes on there and then in the middle of the night and drove the load away. The haulier ruefully told me: "Next time he'll park it in the yard, and I'll pay for his taxi home and back."