Preventable Fire Stories

AN IRON left unattended was the suspected cause of a bedroom fire in Great Glen.

Fire crews from Kibworth and Wigston were called out to Higher Green in the village at about 6pm on Wednesday last week.

Firefighters were at the incident until about 7pm and a spokesman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue said the suspected cause was an iron left unattended on a piece of clothing.

There was ‘moderate’ damage to bedroom, the spokesman said.

People inside the house had managed to get out before firefighters arrived.more at LINK

The better clothes irons now contain a timer to shut off the device if left on too long.  My power strip would be an added level of protection, shutting it off if any smoke detected.  It won’t save your favorite shirt, but it might save your house!

An unattended electric clothes iron started the fire in the house at 2830 Nancy Drive, Lehigh fire district spokesman Patrick Comer said Tuesday. The iron was left on in the utility room.

“From what we can gather the mother was in a hurry to go to Miami and forgot to turn the iron off,” Comer said.The fire did an estimated $165,000 of damage to the home, which is valued at $225,250 by the Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office. Sonia E. Rivas is listed by the appraiser as the owner of the property.

LINK

The second fire was an apartment fire reported at 315 Brazier Drive, North in apartment D at approximately 8:11 a.m. Firefighters arrived at approximately 8:15 a.m. reporting heavy smoke coming from the upstairs apartment in the Roger Williams Housing Complex. Firefighters made entry and discovered a fire in the bedroom and extinguished the fire.

The occupant told Fire Investigators that she had been ironing clothes earlier and couldn’t remember if she had turned the iron off or not. Investigators discovered the iron in the on position. The fire was caused when the iron was apparently left on, sitting on top of some clothes on the bed. Damage is estimated at approximately $30 thousand. No injuries were reported.

more at LINK

It’s difficult to position a power strip above a clothes iron or ironing board.  There’s still a chance that circulating smoke can reach the smoke shutoff power strip and the power strip can minimize the amount of smoke damage in the room and possibly prevent flames from erupting. 

A fire at a Salinas home on Tuesday evening was caused by an iron left on and plugged in, firefighters said.

The fire occurred about 9 p.m. on the 1200 block of Huntington Street and filled the house with smoke. Fire teams responded and quickly extinguished the flames.

We have the kind of iron that shuts off after 15 minutes. I guess for a forgetful person, get a few of my power strips for whatever they leave plugged in. 

By DEBBIE BURT MYERS
Managing Editor

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Fire Department Capt. Dexter Spencer said no one was at home when the fire broke out about 10 a.m. in a bedroom.

The homeowner said she had experienced problems with shortages in the electric plug ins, Spencer said.

It could have been that or an iron which had been plugged in that caused the fire, he said.

more at LINK

Update: Iron Caused Fatal Fire In W. Philly
Woman Died In Saturday Blaze

POSTED: 3:12 pm EDT May 7, 2007

PHILADELPHIA — An unattended electric iron was the cause a fatal fire in West Philadelphia Saturday afternoon, officials said.

The fire marshal determined the cause of a fire at 17 S. Redfield St. to be an electrical iron, according to Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers.

A 68-year-old woman lost her life in the blaze that occurred at 1:18 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

The fire was placed under control at 1:32 p.m.

Fire officials found three smoke alarms in the home, two were working and one had a dead battery.

LINK
True some irons have a timer to shut them off if left on too long. But I say a power strip which shut off when the iron started smoking would have prevented this death.

Grandmother dies of injuries from Sept. fire

Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer

November 29, 2006 5:32 pm — IRONDEQUOIT — xxxx xxxxx, the 57-year-old woman who was injured in a Sept. 9 fire with her 3-year-old granddaughter died today at Strong Memorial Hospital.Foti and 3-year-old xxxxxx xxxxxxx, suffered burns and respiratory distress in the early-morning blaze that destroyed the top floor of their home at 19 Osage St.

Strong Memorial spokesperson Germanie Reinhardt confirmed xxxx’s death.

Investigators have concluded that the fire was caused by an iron left unattended in a bedroom.

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