Overloaded surge protector

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House fire destroys family's possessions

By MARCIA LANE | More by this reporter | marcia.lane@staugustinerecord.com | Posted: Thursday, November 16, 2006 ;

Firefighters work at the scene of a house fire in West Augustine early Wednesday morning. Photo by Rob Kilroy

A St. Johns County School District employee and her family are finding friends rallying behind them following an early morning fire on Wednesday that left them homeless.

"The good thing is there were no injuries," St. Augustine Fire Department Capt. Ed Tyler said of the fire that gutted the interior of the residence of Carla and Kelvin Whitfield and their four children.

Tyler said the single-story wood frame residence at 7 N. Whitney St. was "probably salvageable." Most of the contents of the house were destroyed.


Tyler said fire and heavy smoke were coming out of the front bedroom of the building when firefighters arrived at 4:53 a.m.

"It took about 10 minutes to get the fire knocked down," he said. The cause of the fire was an overloaded surge protector, Tyler said. An electrical heater was plugged in the surge protector and all the other slots were in use.

Carla Whitfield, who works in the main office of the St. Johns County School District, quickly found out she has friends.

St. Johns County School Superintendent Joseph Joyner was late for an early morning meeting at the district office, having stopped to see the Whitfields and find out how the family was doing.

Preventing Fire:

With colder weather on the way, fire officials warn people that they should be careful when using electric heaters.

It is best not to use extension cords with them.

If using extension cords, they need to be properly rated for space heaters.

Surge protectors should not be used as extension cords.

Kerosene heaters should be allowed to cool off before kerosene is added to them.

When using any kind of heater, keep it away from soft items such as curtains and covered furniture.

Keep heaters away from any kind of combustibles.

-- Capt. Ed Tyler, St. Augustine Fire Department