Preventable Fire Stories

My SmokeShutoff power strip can shut off the player and sound an alarm before all this damage.

By Dennis Smith, Burlington Post Staff

A woman and young daughter who climbed out a bedroom window were lucky to escape a blaze on Friday night, says Burlington fire prevention officer Ben Rotsma.

The pair had been asleep and there were no batteries in the smoke alarm inside the small, rented bungalow at 470 Brock Ave., he noted.

“The fire was in the living room and the bedroom is directly off the living room,” Rotsma said. “Fortunately, they were sleeping behind a closed bedroom door, which kept a substantial amount of smoke out and limited the spread of the fire. We’re quite fortunate that no one lost their life in that fire. Smoke can cause people to go unconscious.”

He said a malfunctioning DVD player is the suspected cause of the fire. Rotsma said the house sustained mainly smoke damage, with the total loss estimated at $15,000.

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VALLEJO: FIRE AT GROUP HOME APPEARS ACCIDENTAL

VALLEJO (BCN)

A three-alarm fire that gutted a two-story group home for boys on Georgia Street in Vallejo Monday night appears have been an accident, the Vallejo Fire Department said this afternoon.

Fire Inspector Charles Rivers said the fire started in an area of the living room where a television and other electronics were plugged in.

It burned curtains and spread to the roof. Rivers said the Victorian home, built in 1918, will probably be razed.

Rivers said he is still conducting interviews with the home’s occupants. Six young teen boys lived at the home, known as Mary’s Help Residential, and the Red Cross has found them temporary housing, Rivers said.

The fire was reported at 9:48 p.m. Damage is in excess of $500,000.

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My power strip could have shut off all that stuff at the 1st sign of smoke, possibly preventing this.

By David Kessen

A COMPACT disc player may have started a blaze which caused a serious fire at a house in Askern.

the property on Rushy Moor Avenue …
The fire started in a conservatory, and had spread to a converted outhouse containing a shower and toilet.
….

A fire service spokesman said: “The cause of the fire is accidental and fire investigation officers believe an electrical fault on a CD player was the cause. No members of the family were at home at the time, and the alarm was raised by a neighbour.

“The entire contents of the conservatory were destroyed and much of the outhouse building was severely damaged. The fire also caused some burning to the kitchen, and the rest of the property was smoke-logged, making it currently inhabitable.”

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My power strip can turn off that type of electronics.  On a stereo shelf?  Just have my power strip attached to the underside of the top shelf.

Mayhem as neighbours’ digiboxes all burst into flames at once due to power surge

A massive power surge triggered a number of TV digiboxes to burst into flames on one street as firefighters dashed from house to house.The set-top boxes began spitting sparks and residents living on the street described the road as being “lit up like Blackpool Pier”.

Firefighters had to go from house to house asking people to unplug their electrical items as panicked home-owners ran into the street.

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I’ll blog this under home theater and TV.  People leave cable boxes powered on so they can record shows.  My power strip can turn them off if the device starts smoking.

Hot plate blamed for Tornillo Street apartment fire

Sun News Report

Article Launched: 12/28/2007 12:00:00 AM MST

Click photo to enlarge

A Las Cruces Fire Department crew works to extinguish a fire at an apartment on… (Courtesy photo)

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LAS CRUCES - Firefighters from the Las Cruces Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 926 North Tornillo Street about 3 p.m. Thursday, according to a city of Las Cruces news release.Upon arrival, firefighters encountered smoke and fire coming from the front windows of apartment No. 5.

No one was home at the time of the fire. Three small puppies died due to smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.

Fire Investigator James VonSchriltz said the fire was caused by an electric hot plate which had been left unattended and fell from its position, igniting the carpet floor and other nearby combustibles, the release said. Property damage was estimated to be about $20,000.

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Cause ruled accidental

MOSES LAKE - A weekend house fire on the edge of Moses Lake was ruled accidental and likely caused by an electrical problem involving a TV or DVD player.

Grant Fire District No. 5 firefighters were called at 5 p.m. Sunday to the two-bedroom home on Road 4 N.E., said Leonard Johnson, the district’s battalion chief.

No one was injured in the fire, Johnson noted.

The fire started in the front room where a small wooden entertainment center was sitting and didn’t spread to other areas of the house, said Bruce Gribble, Grant County’s chief deputy fire marshal.

The DVD player and entertainment center were destroyed, he said.

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Most entertainment centers already contain a power strip.  Mine would give an extra level of protection, shutting off any smoking component or the TV.

Source
One of our customers in Concord recently learned that lesson first-hand when fire broke out in their relatively new home. The fire started in the home theater, mostly likely sparked by an electrical problem. During construction American Alarm had installed a comprehensive home security system which detected the fire and immediately sounded an alarm in the house and at our 24-hour Security Command Center. Within seconds the Concord fire department was on the way. They knocked down the fire, containing damage to the home theater area.

Boston Globe reference