Preventable Fire Stories

Lasko, a company that makes portable fans and heaters, has been fined $500,000 for failing to report to the government that some of its fans could overheat, smoke, or catch fire posing fire and burn hazards. Nine people were injured and Lasko received 42 reports of fans overheating, smoking, melting, or catching fire between November 2002 and September 2005. The defect resulted in the recall of 5.6 million fans in 2006.

The 2006 recall involved various models of Lasko, Galaxy, Air King and General Electric fans manufactured between January 1999 and July 2001, and sold through February 2004 at discount department stores nationwide for between $10 and $25. An electrical failure in the motor caused the fans to malfunction. Check the original recall notice for model numbers and photos.

That’s why I’m developing my smoke-shutoff power strip. You can’t trust manufacturers any more — they’d rather pay the occasional fine instead of making sure their products are safe. Take a look at the blog on my website and you’ll see 1000+ news stories of fires caused by things left plugged in, many of them defective, others simply designed with risk built in. 

Dwight family escapes fire
10/03/2008 15:18:52

By Kent Casson

The family of five had just replaced the battery in a smoke alarm and the alarm woke everyone up. All five people escaped, uninjured.

LINK

At 1:43 a.m. Monday an overheated electrical box fan caused $10,000 in damages to a bedroom at 1616 Central Drive, said Battalion Chief Tom Shook. The occupant of the house is listed as Russ Uhte.

LINK

When fans are moving air around, it takes a higher density of smoke to trigger a ceiling detector.  My power strip probably would have had an equal likelihood of detecting the smoke, turning off the fan (useful if nobody’s home) and sounding an alarm before too much smoke damage was incurred.

A family of five is homeless today after a fire heavily damaged their home in Leicester, Livingston County.

Firefighters from 10 area fire departments were called to 16 South St. just before 3 p.m. yesterday, after Livingston County sheriff’s deputy Matthew Orman spotted the blaze, according to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.

The house sustained heavy fire damage. No injuries were reported, deputies said.

Fire investigators determined that the fire was caused by a box fan left running in a rear portion of the home, deputies said. The fan had shorted out.

…

Firefighters from Leicester, Cuylerville, York, Geneseo, Mt. Morris, Caledonia, Perry, Pavilion, Nunda and Avon battled the fire. Emergency medical technicians from Cuylerville, Geneseo, Mt. Morris and Perry also assisted at the scene.

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

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See my notes on other fires caused by fans.

Electric fan blamed for Douglasdale fire

Calgary Herald

Published: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Residential - A blaze that engulfed two homes and damaged the roof of a third in the southeast community of Douglasdale was started by a portable electric fan, according to the Calgary Fire Department.

Believed to be accidental, the Sunday fire caused over $1.1 million in damage to the three houses, including the interior contents. The fire began in one home, quickly spread to a neighbouring property and a travelling ember from the original blaze flew over and caught the roof of a home across the street.

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When a fan is smoldering, it’s uncertain where the smoke will go.   Best bet is to place the power strip above the fan, assuming the fan will overheat and fail and there will be no air current from the fan.  That’s the best chance my power strip has of detecting the smoldering and powering off the fan before flames.

Jacob Robb, 15, watches from a neighbor’s yard as firefighters investigate a fire in the home of his sister, Keri Rivers, last night at 907 Clayton St. Firefighters were dispatched at about 6:20 p.m. after Rivers, 22, with her 7-year-old son returned home and encountered heavy smoke. Rivers, her son and brother were treated for smoke inhalation, the fire department said. Investigators decided the fire likely started with an electrical malfunction in a fan or the outlet where it was plugged in. Damage to the home owned by Rivers’ father was estimated at $20,000. Three adult dogs, six puppies and a guinea pig were removed without injury.

LINK
whether it was the fan or the plug, my power strip might have prevented this

WASHINGTON, Iowa — An electric fan was the source of an accidental Saturday evening house fire here, fire officials have determined.

Three dogs died in the fire at 525 S. Avenue C. No people were injured.

Washington Fire Chief Tom Wide said he didn’t have a dollar amount of damage caused by the fire, which started in the living room. “There wasn’t a whole lot of damage to the structure itself, but the contents were pretty well destroyed,” he said today.

No one was home when the fire started.

LINK

A fire started by an overheated fan caused $700,000 in damage to the Carland Tractor and Equipment store Monday in Mills River, a fire official said.

Mills River firefighters responded to the call about 1 p.m. The fire was apparently caused by one of four fans in an upper level storage room, which had been running continuously for weeks, said Chief Rick Livingston of Mills River Fire and Rescue.

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My power strip might have shut that fan off sooner, when it detected the smoke, possibly preventing the $700,000 damage.

The fire, reported at 12:35 p.m. at 400 Washington St., Apt. 407, reportedly started when a box fan in the apartment fell and overheated, then caught some nearby drapes on fire.

Newark fire Capt. Greg Keefe said the fire mostly was extinguished by the time crews arrived on the scene, although smoke had to be cleared by firefighters.

Keefe estimated damage at $15,000, mainly because of the water from the sprinklers.

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Loss of rental income, damage, are reasons apartment owners should consider providing my power strip for free to tenants to prevent this type of fire.

 Reported by: Tenikka Smith
Last Update: 6/18 5:53 pm

Bartlett Fire officials think a box fan maybe to blame for an early morning fire at Mr. Tart’s Hot Wings in the 6100 block of Stage Road.

The business owner and a fire investigator with his insurance company are still trying to figure out what started the fire.

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