# Man starts fire to get rid of smoke **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896 "2015-08-25T23:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/1 "2015-08-25T23:18:43Z")
This weekend, smoke from all the wildfires burning to the east in Oregon and Washington blew into Portland. So one enterprising gentleman decided to [try lighting a fire](http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/08/wildfire_smoke_in_portland_cau.html) on the floor of his apartment. > [@](#): > > The 29-year-old explained that he noticed smoke in the air from large wildfires from across the state and came up with a plan to try and get rid of the haze. So he “started (a) fire to get rid of the smoke,” according to a probable cause affidavit. In a shocking development, > [@](#): > > Police found a pipe with meth that Downey admitted was his during a search. The mugshot alone is worth clicking through. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/2 "2015-08-26T01:21:34Z")
Meth is a strange drug. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/3 "2015-08-26T02:02:12Z")
I don’t think the wildfire smoke caused the man to light a fire. I think it was disordered thinking that did it. It reminds me of a local police report, years back, about a guy who decided to burn his telephone book because there were demons in it talking to him. He was more thoughtful than meth pipe boy. He burned the book on his stove. In case the fire tried to get away, he hauled in a hose and left it running on the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, his apartment was on the second floor. I don’t know if there was any meth involved, but there was definitely disordered thinking. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/4 "2015-08-26T02:38:16Z")
I was gonna start a flood to dry off my house. Are you telling me that won’t work? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/5 "2015-08-26T02:57:01Z")
I think he at some point has started a campfire. You always get a lot of smoke just before the flames. Get your mind toasted just right, and it isn’t a large step to thinking that flames get rid of smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/6 "2015-08-26T03:22:38Z")
Maybe he believes in homeopathy? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/7 "2015-08-26T11:54:45Z")
Why they call it “dope”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/8 "2015-08-26T16:07:19Z")
Much of smoke is in fact unburned fuel. If you could route it through a hotter fire with a fresh supply of oxygen you could burn it more thoroughly and end up with a clearer, less sooty, exhaust stream. On enough drugs that clearly means a campfire on the living room floor is a \*most excellent \*idea. Mug shot was actually pretty disappointing for a meth user. Looks more like a noxious weed hobbyist IMO. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/9 "2015-08-26T16:17:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Much of smoke is in fact unburned fuel. If you could route it through a hotter fire with a fresh supply of oxygen you could burn it more thoroughly and end up with a clearer, less sooty, exhaust stream. > > On enough drugs that clearly means a campfire on the living room floor is a \*most excellent \*idea. Quite true. A small flame like a candle can clear up a smoky room quickly. This shows how a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous. Of course when you throw in the drugs no amount knowledge is going to help. ETA: Just remembered one of my favorite news items. A guy in Newburgh NY decided to kill a rat in his apartment by setting it on fire with an aerosol can blow torch. He did set the rat on fire, and the rat promptly ran into a hole in the old timber frame house and in no time at all the whole thing burned to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/10 "2015-08-26T16:31:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Mug shot was actually pretty disappointing for a meth user. Looks more like a noxious weed hobbyist IMO. Yeah, I can’t make fun of mugshots of hard core meth users (and [we see enough of them here](http://www.facesofmeth.us/main.htm)). But this guy…it doesn’t say meth, it says dope. In both its common meanings. ---
**Author:** ![TMartee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@TMartee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TMartee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-starts-fire-to-get-rid-of-smoke/728896/11 "2015-08-26T19:20:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Mug shot was actually pretty disappointing for a meth user. Looks more like a noxious weed hobbyist IMO. gotta agree: he looks like a weed smoker not a meth head… though i am no expert 😃