Preventable Fire Stories

The home in Evergreen sustained under $2,000 in fire and smoke damage. (Einar Jensen | Evergreen Fire Rescue)

Evergreen Fire/Rescue crews didn’t have much trouble extinguishing a basement electrical fire today, but they say the blaze shows that homeowners need to keep their wiring updated and use heat tape properly.

Firefighters arrived at 5098 White House Trail after the owner called for help. They found light smoke coming from the home and knocked out the basement blaze with a fire extinguisher.

Old heat tape compounded the hazards in the basement and contributed to the fire.

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Heat tape can be plugged into my power strip

North Hampton Fire Lt. Cabot Trott said the Feb. 11 fire was inside a home in the Granite Post Green mobile home park off Lafayette Road. Fire officials were called to the scene by the homeowner at 6:33 a.m. and the fire was under control within 30 minutes.

Trott said the fire, which originated beneath the home, was contained to the bathroom. Officials believe the fire was caused by old heating tape wrapped around water pipes beneath the home to prevent freezing.

….

Estimated damage to the home was $30,000 and it will not be habitable until the bathroom is replaced and plumbing and electrical work is done.

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By Rebecca Haines

Carthage Press

Brenda Karlinski, and her children: Tiffany, 19, of Joplin, Brittany, 15, and Anthony, 12, were asleep in their home at 1608 W. Budlong St., when the fire began. Carthage Firefighter Terry Ogden said the fire was caused by a short circuit in heating tape on a waterline under the home.

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Mashantucket The seven-alarm fire at Foxwoods Resort Casino on Tuesday that required the help of 17 local fire departments was caused by an electrical malfunction atop the Great Cedar Hotel, according to preliminary information released by the State Fire Marshal on Wednesday.

The fire started when the device used to keep the hotel’s pipes from freezing malfunctioned, the fire marshal’s report said.

The seventh and eighth floors could take a few more days as they suffered serious water damage. A total of 22 rooms were affected by water damage, MacDonald said. …wallboard and carpeting, will be needed for the repairs.

Portions of the roof …

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Not sure if it was a heater or heat tape. My power strip would have shut off either at the first sign of smoldering.

Brian Ianniello said the fire started in his mobile home after he plugged in hot water tape to thaw frozen water pipes in his rental unit. He said he smelled smoke and ripped out part of the wall, where he discovered a small fire.

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Sounds like a wiring problem behind the wall.  Blogging because my power strip can detect that smoke and turn off whatever’s plugged in (like heat tape) and in many cases the smoldering will stop instead of turning to flames.

Edgerton firefighters received mutual aid from four other area fire departments in fighting a barn fire Tuesday night.

Units responded to 34 Craig Road in Albion Township around 5:30, and found a barn fully involved in fire. Lost in the blaze was a pick up truck, some farm machinery and a large amount of hay.

The cause of the fire is listed as undetermined, but heat tape on water pipes is suspected.

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Heat tape seems like the safest way to keep pipes from freezing (other than simply running water).  I wonder if heat tape is allowed in the NFPA standards for barns.  I’ll look that up.  My product could make heat tape safer, shutting it off at the first sign of smoldering.

Fire destroys mobile home

By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter October 30, 2007

Last updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10:53 AM EDT

A fire that destroyed a mobile home in Middlesex Township Monday evening was caused by a heat tape, according to Middlesex Township fire chief Ed Beam.

No one was home at the time, Beam said, explaining that owners Lee and Virginia Buzilow are being aided by the local American Red Cross chapter.

Neighbors called in the blaze, Beam said, and by the time crews arrived at the residence at 1 D Dogwood Lane about 8:30 p.m., it was pretty well involved.

We had it under control at 8:55 p.m., he said, adding that crews didn’t leave until about 11 p.m. Beam noted that while no other structures were affected by the flames, the Buzilows did lose a house cat.

We’ve traced it to heat tape that was just recently plugged in beneath the trailer, Beam said, explaining that the tape is wrapped around exposed pipes to keep them from freezing but can crack when exposed to weather.

(I don’t know if this trailer would be suitable for my power strip because it’s usually pretty drafty underneath mobile homes.  Depends on the amount of skirting installed.  I’m blogging the story because heat tape in a basement or crawl spaces is an obvious application for a power strip that shuts off the heat tape if smoke is detected.)