Preventable Fire Stories

UMPQUA — A couple of dozen sheep perished and a barn burned to the ground Wednesday morning in a fire on Mode Road.

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A total of 14 firefighters responded to the scene with three engines, three water tenders and two support units. The Sutherlin Fire Department also responded.

Firefighters determined the fire appeared to have started in the center of the barn near the animals, where a heat lamp had been set up to keep the lambs warm at night. Due to the extensive damage, however, investigators were unable to determine an official cause.

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My power strip could make some of these temporary barn setups safer.

The barn at 797 Chestnut Road in the Town of Knowlton caught fire at about 7p.m. Tuesday night and re-ignited hours later.

…He says investigators say the blaze may have been sparked by two electrical tank heaters in the barn.

Chief Rheinschmidt says the home owner plugged them in to keep their animals water from freezing…

“When we got there about 2/3 of the barn was already gone. The roof was in, the two sides had collapsed and there wasn’t much left to save, ” says Chief Rheinschmidt.

…”We had a brand new tractor

In addition to the farming equipment and tools they lost most of the feed

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Heater issues spark three Culver fires, kill animals

Posted: Dec 17, 2008 08:19 PM

Culver resident David Henley says pig likely knocked over heat lamp or tossed hay on it, igniting fire

By Jennifer, Burns, KTVZ.COMIn a 10-hour span, Jefferson County Rural Fire District officials put out three fires in Culver, all started by heating devices for animals, several of which perished in the blazes.

Teresa Haro’s neighbors saw her chicken coop go up in flames.

“I was getting ready for bed, and the neighbor ran over and said the shed was on fire,” Haro, a Culver resident, said Wednesday.

One group of chickens were locked in a small coop with a water heater. They couldn’t escape the flames, killing five of Haro’s pets.

“You need it to keep the water from freezing, otherwise the chickens will die without the water,” Haro said.

Haro bought the heater two days ago, and checked it hours before it caught fire.

Six hours later and a mile away, a barn burned to the ground.

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Henley says one of the pigs either knocked over a heat lamp or tossed hay on top, igniting it.

“With pigs, they don’t have any hair,” he said. “So you have to have some sort of heat for them or they’ll freeze to death.”

A tractor, a feed grinder and 22 tons of alfalfa all went up in flames.

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Culver resident Jaye Reeves said, “I actually had my neighbor call me this morning said the doghouse was on fire and the fire department was on the way.”

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The Jefferson County RFPD has some tips for other pet and livestock owners:

Keep heating devices away from combustibles, and safely fasten heaters so they can’t be knocked over. Also, use UL approved heating devices, those devices are tested and meet electrical standards and rules.

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Actually, heat pads are safer than lights.  My power strip would make them even safer, raising an alarm and shutting them off at the first sign of smoke.   And ETL listings are also permitted for NRTL test proof. 

Posted By NICK GARDINER, SUN MEDIA

A small number of pigs, chickens, geese and rabbits died in a massive fire late Wednesday afternoon that destroyed a barn on Townline Road in Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township.

A tractor and 4,000 bales of hay were also lost in the blaze.

Brent Wilson, who farms the land, spotted the fire around 4 p. m. and managed to save some pigs, but the blaze quickly got out of hand.

“I came into the barn and it was just a small hole in the wall. In two minutes, it was into the loft,” Wilson said.

it was a heat lamp used to keep the two-week-old piglets warm that is believed to have caused the fire, Wilson said.

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Pigs, poultry, rabbits perish in area barn fire

Posted By Nick Gardiner, Staff Writer

Posted 6 hours ago

A small number of pigs, chickens, geese and rabbits died in a massive barn fire late Wednesday afternoon that destroyed the Townline Road structure along with 4,000 bales of hay and a tractor.

…”I came into the barn and it was just a small hole in the wall. In two minutes, it was into the loft,” Wilson told The Recorder and Times after the fire had been brought under control.

…Wilson couldn’t put a price tag on the barn and contents destroyed in the fire but said there was some sentimental value with the animals, particularly a sow that perished with three piglets.

…Tragically, it was a heat lamp used to keep the two-week-old piglets warm that is believed to have caused the fire, said Wilson.

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Heat lamps are the least preferable way to keep pets warm.  Heating pads are safer.  My power strip can make all these setups safer, simply tack the smoke shutoff power strip above the pen and above the heat source and if any smoldering begins, my power strip is in position to detect it, shut off the heat source, and sound a 95dB alarm.

Even with this heat pad, you need to make sure the wiring can’t be chewed.  If you have a dog who gnaws, you should buy hard conduit to cover the wiring.

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — Fire investigators think a heat lamp caused a fire that destroyed a building full of baby chickens in Douglas County last week.

Douglas County Fire District No. 2 said roughly 100 chicks perished in the Friday night fire in the community of Melrose. Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading to structures that housed rabbits in cages.

The chicks had recently been bought and a heat lamp was placed in the 400-square-foot structure to keep them warm. The fire district warned that heat lamps can spark fires when placed too closely to flammable materials.

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by Kyle Wells

A short in a heat lamp caused a barn in Gaston to go up in flames on Wednesday. The fire happened near county roads 1200 North and 600 West.

According to Gaston Fire Chief Mike Delaney, the heat lamp destroyed the barn. The purpose of the lamp inside the barn was to keep the family dog warm from the cold.

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by Susan L. Oppat | The Ann Arbor News

Monday November 17, 2008, 11:01 AM

Four puppies and a rabbit were killed Sunday, in a pole barn fire that appears to have been touched off by a warming lamp intended to keep them comfortable.

Northfield Township Fire Capt. Jay Keine said firefighters were called to 6396 Nollar Road at 4:39 p.m., and found the front of the 30-foot-by-50-foot barn in flames.

….Keine said the fire began in exactly the area where the warming lamp was operated.

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He estimated damage to the barn and contents at about $50,000.

Sooner or later insurers will consider the claims my SmokeShutoff power strip can prevent if installed above battery charging stations, to shut off the chargers at the first sign of smoke.

Firefighters prevent barn fire explosion

Monday, November 10, 2008, 09:12

FIREFIGHTERS spent an hour and a half tackling a barn fire which could have led to an explosion after a quarter tonne of fertiliser went up in flames.

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Four fire appliances from Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Exeter and the incident command vehicle from Exmouth, were called to the blaze at Marsh Lane Farm in Chudleigh at 2.47am.

When crews arrived a single storey lean-to building, containing a £3,000 tractor, ammonium nitrate fertiliser, a yard scraper, a bailer, grass seeds and new jump leads, were all ablaze.

…He added: “We believe the fire was caused by a battery charger which charges batteries the farmer uses for his electric fencing. It had been on all night and is the only feasible source of ignition.”

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My power strip can shut off heat lamps at the first sign of smoke.  Smart insurers should begin recommending my product.

Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator

October 27, 2008

The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 27, 2008)Thirty Haldimand County firefighters battled a barn fire in Caledonia yesterday that caused an estimated $300,000 in damage.

It took 11 fire trucks and an excavator about four hours to put out the major fire at 1422 McKenzie Rd.

Deputy Chief Lyle Merritt said the fire began at 6 a.m. due to a heat lamp being used to warm some three-day-old turkeys being raised for Christmas.

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