Preventable Fire Stories

… a two-story home in rural west Morgan Hill burned to the ground.

… CalFire battalion chief Ken McGeever. ..

(resident) suspected a malfunction with his electric blanket or an electric heating pad in his bedroom started the fire, which he said started while he was on the phone with his daughter.

…
McGeever agreed the fire appeared to have started in the bedroom, as that area showed the most damage.

Crews from Cal Fire, Santa Clara County Fire Dept., and Gilroy FD responded to the fire, which was still smoldering in the early afternoon

LINK

Missoula firefighters made quick work of a small fire which broke out at the Hunter’s Glen assisted living facility on American Way just after 9:00 Saturday morning.

Crews extinguished the hot spots and located the room where a fire sprinkler had been activated when an electric blanket malfunctioned.

Residents were moved to safety and no one was injured, but the fire caused about $10,000 worth of damage.

more at LINK

Manufacturers warn not to sleep with them plugged in but nearly everybody does.  My power strip might prevent the situation where fumes render the sleeping victim unconscious — the shutoff would give the fumes a chance to clear before flames erupt, the victim could regain consciousness and escape.

Henry County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Brian Davis (second from left) talks with neighbors on the front porch of a home at 925 Pled Wade Road northeast of Cottage Grove. Rxxxx Bxxxx, 67, of the residence, was killed Sunday night in a fire at the home that began when an electric blanket caught fire. —Staff photo by Bill McCutcheon

LINK 

A faulty electric blanket is thought to be the cause of a fire in which an elderly man died early on Monday morning.

Fire officers, who were called to the blaze in Llangollen, Denbighshire, said it was important that electric blankets were stored properly.

more at LINK

My power strip could have shut off the heat source at the first sign of smoke, whether or not it was a device approved for use with pets.

By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Monday, October 27, 2008 at 7:37 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 27, 2008 at 8:55 a.m.

Fire broke out in an eastside Santa Rosa home early Monday, possibly started by a heating blanket in a tortoise pen, said Santa Rosa fire officials.

JOHN BURGESS/THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Santa Rosa firefighters clear the smoke from an attic fire in a duplex on Shepard Court early monday morning.

The fire was quickly extinguished but had gotten into the attic of the Shepard Court duplex and was extensive enough to displace the woman living there, Battalion Chief Andy Pforsich said.

The woman, Judy Truskett, two large tortoises, more than two feet in diameter, and a small turtle all got out safely.

more at LINK

A quick response from firefighters from eight units across the region then curbed its spread just before it took hold in the commission home.

“It was pretty lucky actually, just another minute and it (the fire) was heading up into the roof space,” Koroit Fire Brigade Second Lieutenant David Lumsden said.

“It was a good save by the fire brigades.”

Four firefighters donned breathing apparatus to douse the blaze before it spread from the bedroom.

An electric blanket is suspected to have triggered the fire.

more at LINK

A 77-YEAR-OLD woman was “extremely lucky” after she escaped from a fire in her own bed.

Fire crews from Chirk and Llangollen attended the fire in Froncysyllte near Llangollen at about 1.30am on Saturday.

Fire officers said the cause was a faulty electric blanket which caused extensive fire and smoke damage to a bedroom and smoke damage to the rest of the property.

more at LINK

Electric blankets really shouldn’t be left on while you’re asleep.  My power strip can make them safer.  If the fumes knock out the sleeper, at least my power strip has a chance to turn off the blanket before flames erupt. Will sound a 90dB alarm.  Might save someone’s life.

Stockholm - Emergency services in the Swedish town Vastervik lauded a 103-year-old woman for acting “according to the rule book” when she put out a fire in an electric blanket, reports said on Wednesday.

“When I sat on my bed, my bottom felt really hot. It also smelled like something was on fire and I discovered the mattress was burning,” Ulla Lundback told the local Vasterviks-Tidningen about the incident on Monday.

Lundback, who lives on her own in the coastal town of Vastervik, 280km south of Stockholm, pulled out the electric plug and filled a water container that she poured over the smouldering bed, extinguishing the fire.

LINK

Sounds like she caught the fire before smoke would have triggered the SmokeShutoff.  I’m blogging to note the fire danger with electric blankets. 

Family escape bedroom fire

A FAMILY in Winchester had a lucky escape when an old electric blanket caught fire in the early hours of the morning.

Firefighters from Winchester were called to a house in Fox Lane, Stanmore, shortly after 3am yesterday (April 17).

A spokeswoman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said that the adult daughter of the family was returning home from work in the early hours and her parents had switched on the blanket in readiness.

…Watch manager Daniel Miles, of HFRS’s community safety department:…

“Everyone needs to be aware of the safety issues around electric blankets. Every year more than 1,000 house fires are started as a result of faulty electric blankets; around 20 people are killed and over 150 people injured as a result.”

more at LINK

My power strip can make the use of electric blankets safer. True, the smoke will likely go to the ceiling first, but at least if nobody is around my power strip will eventually sense the smoke, turn off the blanket — possibly to prevent flames from erupting — and sound a 95dB alarm.

Boise fire officials said a malfunctioning electric blanket used to warm a doghouse caused a fire that all but destroyed a home in the 11000 block of West Goldenrod Road in Boise early Friday morning.Police in the neighborhood near North Five Mile Road and West McMillan Road first reported the fire at about 2:45 a.m., and crews remained on the scene until about 9:30 a.m.

The residents of the home were out of town, but fire officials said a caretaker was caring for the two dogs left at the house. Both dogs were OK after the fire.

Dave Hanneman, Boise Fire Department deputy chief said the two-alarm blaze did substantial damage to the interior of the home.

LINK

Bad setup.  Click on links below about electric blankets, how to keep pets warm, and how my power strip can help make it safer.