How God saved us from becoming part of the parking lot.

Bingely Bobbin Mill Boiler Explosion.. 1869

I remember the first time we ran the heating system in our first old building in Regina in 1999. I had flipped the switch to turn on the natural gas for the massive old boiler (converted from coal to natural gas). Later I came into the Mission after being out for coffee with Michelle and noticed that it was extremely hot in the building.  I checked the thermostat and saw that it was reading  way over where it was set,  over 85 degrees Fahrenheit . Condensation was running down the walls.    Suspicious that something was very amiss, I ran down the stairs in to the dingy basement, picked my way through the piles of clutter and garbage that clogged the hallway from years of castoff junk in this notorious rooming house,  and made  my way to the boiler room.  It was getting hotter with every step i took.

 As i neared the boiler room door the heat was incredible  and there were loud creaking and groaning noises emanating from the roaring hot furnace. I said a quick prayer for protection as i entered the steaming hot room.  When i looked at the gauges I found that the temperature of the water was over two hundred and sixty degrees, well beyond the red zone indicated for safety.  The boiler pressure was also past the very top of the dial and the whole massive old boiler was groaning under the strain, ready to explode any moment.

 I rushed out to turn off the switch that controlled the natural gas.  The roaring  furnace fell silent but the creaking and groaning from the boiler seemed even louder than before, like a submarine that has gone too deep and was about to burst . (anybody seen the classic sub movie Das Boot?) I turned a tap to let out some of the water pressure and scalding hot water and steam shot out, the release of pressure caused the pipes to rattle and bang with horrific volume. I went upstairs and warned the mission guys that they might want to step outside till the danger was past. It took  a good three hours for the pressure and the temperature to come back to normal operating levels.  Needless to say I called the boiler man to come and work on it as quick as possible.

I've heard reports (see above picture) that boilers like these can and do explode and take out whole buildings, if their safety and backup safety systems malfunction. It turned out NONE of the safety systems on this boiler were in working order so it just kept heating hotter and hotter and 7 times hotter! I guess this wasn't too surprising from a slum type building where one of the main exits had a working "EXIT" lamp by a door that was nailed shut from the outside!! Thank you Lord for protecting us. By the way, that building is gone. I guess the song is true, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. :)