Preventable Fire Stories

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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.

mounted over the kitchen counter, my power strip could have prevented this fire.

A hot plate overheated, starting a blaze in the kitchen of a home in the 2200 block of Spruce Street after residents forgot to unplug it before going out, District Chief Charles Ledford said.

The fire, which started about 6:15 p.m. and spread to the living room, did about $25,000 in damage, he said.

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By FRANK ABDERHOLDEN fabderholden@scn1.com

One woman was injured and about 20 others were evacuated after a hot plate started on fire in a dormitory in North Chicago on Monday morning.

The dormitory at the Veteran’s Administration complex on Buckley Road in North Chicago houses Six Flags Great America employees who are part of an international program.

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Glad it wasn’t worse.  Dorm insurers should consider issuing my power strip to residents.  Sprinklers cause way more damage than the simple action my power strip takes which is to turn off the offending device and sound an alarm.

Hot plate causes fire

A hot plate left on by accident in a detached garage apparently sparked a fire that damaged a year-old car in Lombard, officials said. Firefighters were called to the 100 block of South Graig Place around 6 p.m. Monday for a garage fire and said they had the flames quickly extinguished. The hot plate was sitting on a wooden shelf, officials said. Damage was estimated at $14,000.

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By Mark Schnyder

Cause Determined In Cambridge Fire

CAMBRIDGE, Md. (WJZ) ? Deputy State Fire Marshals have determined the cause for the seven-alarm fire that destroyed two local businesses and damaged two nearby buildings as being accidental.

The fire was reported at the Shore Bid Antiques store located at 446 Race Street. The fire quickly spread to the next door business, William G. Willikers Antique’s.

It took 225 firefighters from Dorchester, Talbot and Wicomico Counties to bring the fire under control but not before an estimated $1,000,000.00 damage was caused.

Investigators determined the fire started in a small break room to the rear of the Shore Bid Antiques. Deputy State Fire Marshals working with insurance investigators determined an electrically operated hot plate typically used in food preparation over heated and ignited nearby combustible materials.

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AKRON, Ohio — Akron fire investigators said a hot plate in the kitchen led to a house fire on Monday morning.Firefighters said the house fire on Fultz Street burned through the second and third floors of the house, causing $50,000 in damage.There were no injuries. The family that lived there is being assisted by the Red Cross.

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My power strip hides well under kitchen cabinets above the worktops in a kitchen.  Would have shut off this hot plate at the first sign of smoke, possibly preventing the fire.

For the second time this week, firefighters responded this morning to a blaze on Beverly Drive. The fire broke out in a back bedroom of the home at 5 Beverly around 9:30 a.m. due to a hot plate being used as a heat source. The house is extensively damaged, and the Red Cross has been contacted to help the residents. …

He said he unplugged the hot plate when he left the house at 8:30 a.m.  …

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Fire has destroyed part of Cowra’s Sarajane furniture for the second time.The latest blaze is expected to disrupt production at the multi million dollar factory with owner Glenn Scott estimating that more than $4 million damage had been caused.

…A passerby raised the alarm about the latest fire at 3 36am on Sunday morning.

Cowra Fire Brigade captain Derek Brown said two Cowra units were quickly on the scene but it wasn’t until just after 5am that they were confident they had contained the fire to the one building at the Sarajane complex.

…Detectives and members of the Police Forensics Group were on the scene yesterday, attempting to determine the cause of the latest fire which is believed to have started at the rear of the factory’s canteen.

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Since the fire started in the canteen area, I’ll blog this fire with a random tag from a canteen appliance right now until they announce the cause. I bet the canteen microwave, coffee maker, cooker, toaster, or refrigerator, etc. is the culprit. I’ll update once I find out. Contact me if you know what insurance company pays this claim — they need to get on the ball and help me make this power strip available.

Pensacola News Journal
January, 3, 2008

One person died and another was injured this afternoon during a house fire.

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Pensacola firefighters responded to the call at 12:26 p.m. in the 1800 block of Gonzales Street.

Firefighters determined that an electric hot plate in use in the bedroom started the blaze.

The blaze caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the residence that is valued at about $175,000.

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Considering the time of day, I wonder if the carbon monoxide caused them to sleep before they noticed any smoke.  My power strip could have turned off the hot plate during the smoldering phase, and maybe the CO and smoke would have cleared instead of the hot plate igniting.