Preventable Fire Stories

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VERNON — Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early-morning house fire Monday on Llynwood Drive.

No one was injured in the fire, which was confined to the home’s basement, said Fire Chief Bill Call.

The focus of the fire marshal’s investigation is an overheated electrical device — a dehumidifier, Call said.

Smoke detectors woke the family up about 1 a.m., police and fire officials said. One member of the family opened the cellar door, “got hit with a sizable amount of smoke in the face,” and closed the door, Call said. The family left the house and called 911, he said.

People have to leave their dehumidifiers plugged in in the basement or the whole house will get mold.   Seems like a safe practice would be to plug a SmokeShutoff power strip above the dehumidifier so if it starts smoking, it gets shut off.

The CPSC has announced the recall of 900,000 GE coffee makers that were sold at Walmart. The retailer has received 83 reports of overheating, smoking, melting, burning and fire, including three reports of minor burn injuries to consumer’s hands, feet and torso. Reports of property damage include a significant kitchen fire and damage to countertops, cabinets and a wall.

The recall includes model numbers 169164 and 169165 of General Electric®-branded 12-cup digital coffee makers sold exclusively at Walmart.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled coffee makers and return the product to any Walmart for a full refund.

Walmart Recalls General Electric® Coffee Makers Due to Fire Hazard [CPSC]

Hey Walmart.  You should sell my power strip to mount above the countertop and it can shut off the coffee makers and toasters that start putting out a lot of smoke.

LINK http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_12883439

A fire destroyed an Indian restaurant and a nail salon in a Diamond Bar shopping center this morning but there were no injuries.

A patrolling deputy spotted the blaze in the single-story multi-unit strip mall at 2020 Brea Canyon Road around 1:30 a.m. and called the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Capt. Dean Miller said.

“It look like it was probably started because of an electrical malfunction of the neon signs,” Miller said.

About 30 firefighters knocked down the fire in about 45 minutes.

Fire officials estimate that the fire caused $250,000 in damages - $150,000 to the structure, and another $100,000 worth of damaged content inside the businesses.

An insurance business was also damaged during the blaze.

The SmokeShutoff power strip could have been mounted above those lights, and shut them off at the first sign of smoldering.

A Port Arthur resident has filed a product liability suit against Sunbeam, alleging its defective air purifier started a fire that destroyed his house.

Walter Thomas says a fire started in his home at 2982 Manning St. in Port Arthur on Aug. 29, 2007.

He alleges the fire was caused by a failure within an air purifier that was designed by Sunbeam, according to the complaint filed May 21 in Jefferson County District Court.

Because of the fire, Thomas incurred costs to repair his home and incurred additional living expenses, the suit states.

“The damages total approximately $226,798.28,” the suit states.

more at LINK

Not the first air purifier fire I’ve seen.  Those are left on continuously.  

more at LINK

The cause of the Triple H Gun Club and The Grill on the Hill fire last week has been ruled accidental.

According to Linton Fire Department Chief Gary Tannehill, the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office has determined that a golf cart battery — possibly a charger — is what started the blaze that destroyed the building, owned by John and Ronda Hert.

“(Inspector Greg Gourlard) came down the morning of the fire … he came down while we were still there,” Tannehill said Tuesday afternoon. “We were still on the scene, and he did what he needed to do while we were still there. Then he went back to our station and got what else he needed.”

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A fire at the Super Bi-Lo in Northeast Richland’s Village at Sandhill shut the store down for about four hours Saturday.

The fire, which was contained to a corner of the stock room, has been ruled accidental, said Columbia Deputy Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins. He said it started from the heat caused by a floor buffer charger that was plugged into an extension cord.

The fire caused $185,000 worth of damage, mainly to food items and equipment in the stock room, Jenkins said.

You’d figure insurers would catch on that $185K in damages could have been avoided if they’d had that rechargeable floor buffer plugged into my power strip.

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Firefighters: Hot plate causes $15K in damage

An unattended electric hot plate caught fire in a Caddo Heights home and caused an estimated $15,000 worth of damage, according to the Shreveport Fire Department.

No one was home at the time of fire Thursday morning, and judging by the deep charring to the kitchen cabinets near the hot plate it had been burning awhile before it was reported at 9:48 a.m., officials said.

Black smoke was billowing from the attic and eaves by the time firefighters arrived. Fifteen minutes later the fire was under control, but the damage had already been done to the single-story wood-frame home in the 1500 block of Camille Street.

A fire injured a man and damaged an apartment Monday in southern Winston-Salem, authorities said yesterday.

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A man was treated by Forsyth County paramedics for smoke inhalation and was taken to Forsyth Medical Center, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said. The fire damaged a second-floor apartment at 3514 Konnoak Drive.

The fire was started shortly before 7:30 p.m. by a coffee maker, the fire department said. It took firefighters 17 minutes to put out the fire.

The fire caused $40,000 in damage to the apartment building, the fire department said. The American Red Cross assisted the two adults who lived in the apartment.

I wonder what brand of coffee maker.   My power strip hides neatly below the top cabinets, above kitchen work surfaces, and would shut off smoldering coffee makers.

May 18th, 2009 •

About 70,000 lithium-ion batteries used in Compaq and HP notebook computers were recalled last week by Hewlett-Packard Co., as they could overheat and potentially catch on fire.

The HP laptop battery recall was issued after at least two incidents were reported where the computer batteries ruptured and caused flames to ignite. The fires did not result in any personal injuries, but property damage was reported.

…. more at LINK

Owners of HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP and HP Compaq laptops have been urged to check their battery and remove any defective batteries that have been recalled. A free replacement battery can be obtained by contacting HP at (800) 889-2031 or visiting www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement.

My SmokeShutoff  power strip would add a measure of safety for when you must leave the laptop plugged in.

FIREFIGHTERS were called to a fire in Kidderminster caused by an electric hair straightener.

The incident happened in Walter Nash Road at about 7.10pm yesterday.

Mick Rowlands, watch manager, explained that a teenage girl had been using a hair straightner which she then put down on some foam padding on her computer desk.

This started a fire which damaged her computer’s keyboard and her bedroom carpet and caused some smoke damage. The girl’s father then safely disconnected the device and put out the fire.

Mr Rowlands said: “This was unpleasant and a bit alarming for the family rather than a major incident.

“It is a good wake up call for people using electric hair straighteners and similar items.”

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