Taylor blamed the fire in Elizabeth’s bedroom on a fan electrical cord plugged in next to her bed. Early investigation indicates the fire smoldered in a pile of laundry on her bed before the mattress caught on fire.
“She lost everything,” Matt said.
Taylor estimated damage at $45,000-50,000 for the house and contents.
“They have some renters’ insurance, but they are going to need help,” Taylor said. “Most of the 14-year-old’s stuff is gone.”
Matt said the family had lived in the rental for 31?2 years.

more at LINK

Kids’ rooms are a good place for my power strip. It would have shut off power to the cord as soon as smoldering was detected, possibly preventing the damage.

SEAFORD, Del.- Authorities blame overheated electrical cords for a New Year’s Day fire that damaged a Seaford home.

Cause of Dutch fire announced

Last updated: Wednesday 26 December 2007 16:37 UTC

Den Haag (26 December) - Dutch police say that a fire that killed four children in a Chinese restaurant in the village of Arnemuiden on Christmas Eve was caused by an overheated electrical wire. The daughters of the restaurant’s owner, who were one, three, seven and eight years old, were asleep in their home above the restaurant when the fire broke out. The home was completely destroyed by the blaze.

The fire in the coastal village in the south of the Netherlands has had an enormous impact on the local inhabitants. A moment of silence was observed in church services in Arnemuiden on Christmas Day. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and his cabinet have expressed their sympathy to the childrens’ family.

LINK

It’s possible my power strip could have prevented this fire. Whether the wire was behind the wall or in the open, once smoldering got detected two things would have happened. The alarm in the power strip would have sounded and the power strip would stop providing current to whatever is plugged into it. If the cord was plugged into the power strip, the cord might have cooled and not burned. If the power strip was plugged into an outlet and the overheated cord was behind the wall, the cord might have cooled down after the power strip cut power to whatever was plugged into it.

Fire displaces women living at secret shelter

Residents’ hopes dashed as officials ponder rebuilding and lost services

LINK for full story

By John R. Ellement and April Yee, Globe Correspondent | August 10, 2007

Nine months pregnant and a victim of domestic abuse, Shanele had turned to the Elizabeth Stone House because it was the only place where she could feel safe. Just last week, she moved into the house, which ran a secret shelter for battered women.

But on Tuesday, Shanele was once again looking for a safe place to stay, after a two-alarm fire consumed the top floor of the Jamaica Plain three-decker. The fire forced the shelter to close and left Shanele and six other women and their six children grappling with the destruction of a refuge for people with nowhere else to turn.

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Troop said the Stone House is one of 32 emergency shelters for domestic violence victims in the state, and that there is no fast way to replace the beds lost by the fire. Officials estimated the damage at $175,000.

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In Erika’s old room, where fire officials said the blaze originated, chunks of plaster and gray soot covered the floor. Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said an electrical cord tied into a knot had overheated, sparking the fire that spread to the rear porch.

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My power strip with smoke detecting shutoff can prevent these kinds of fires because once the cord starts smoldering the power strip can power off whatever is drawing electricity and causing the overheating condition.

Dealership Damaged By Fire

The fire caused an estimated $60,000 in damages.

Monday, December 11, 2006 - An east El Paso car dealership is hoping to move full speed ahead after a fire damaged their building and some vehicles. The fire started in one of the offices at the Gateway Nissan dealership. Investigators say an overheated electrical cord underneath a desk is to blame. Close to a dozen crews battled the fire. The biggest problem for firefighters was getting near the building since there were so many cars parked outside. The total damage to the building, including several cars inside that were damaged by the smoke, is about $60,000.

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LINK to original story

It’s a bad idea to overload a cord. Thin cords can’t carry a lot of current. But still, it seems like property insurers would appreciate tenants who only use smoke shutoff power strips, so current is halted across overloaded cords.

Original Link
Friday, November 24, 2006
Dog dies in house fire

BY BRIAN WHITWHAM

RECORD STAFF

KITCHENER

A family’s dog is dead after it fell unconscious in a burning bedroom in Kitchener this morning.

Kitchener platoon chief Ron Taves said a neighbour called to report the fire at a semi-detached home at 426 Bankside Cres. shortly before 9:15 a.m.

Firefighters arrived moments later to find smoke pouring out of the top floor of the home, where the heat had busted a window. Taves said the flames were quickly shut down.

“The fire was contained to the bedroom,” he said. “But had it not been noticed as soon as it was, it would have gone into the attic.”

He said a man and woman live in the home with two daughters, aged 15 and 11 years old. The girls were at school and their parents were at work when the fire was reported, Taves said.

He said the firefighters searched the home and found the dog unconscious in the bedroom. The smoke inhalation is likely what killed the animal, he said.

The woman who owns the home arrived just before the paramedics finished trying to save her dog. She declined comment.

Taves said an investigation determined that the fire was caused by an electrical problem. It started in one of the girls’ rooms, where a lamp cord ignited some bedding.

“It was accidental,” Taves said. “It looks like the electrical cord had some kind of breakdown in it which caused it to overheat.”

The fire department believes there was about $50,000 damage to the home.

Nobody home. The lamp should have been plugged into a power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoff