Overheated cord caused fatal fire
Thursday, January 11, 2007
SPRINGFIELD - An overheated electrical extension cord in the living room started the Sunday fire that killed Lynn Etheridge-Michel, 53, and her son Jakob Michel, 16, in their home at 42 Nathaniel St., according to members of the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad and state troopers from the state fire marshal's office.
More at LINK
I think there's a good chance there was smoke for a while before the fire ignited and flames got out of control. It's of course a bad idea to use a thin cord which can overheat. But still if the cord had been plugged into something that would cut off power if smoke was detected, maybe they'd still be alive. I honestly believe my product can save lives.
Showing posts with label faulty cord. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faulty cord. Show all posts
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Friday, December 22, 2006
house fire caused by extension cord
LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Victoria E. Freile
Staff writer
Greece, NY
(December 15, 2006) — An electrical fault in an extension cord sparked a fire last night that damaged a garage in a Greece residence, firefighters said this morning.
Firefighters with the Ridge Road Fire District were called to 3446 Mt. Read Blvd. about 7:40 p.m. yesterday and doused the blaze which was under control in ten minutes, said Battalion Chief Alan Bubel.
Although the fire was confined to the attached garage, the house sustained smoke damage, he said.
No one was injured in the fire; the lone occupant of the house escaped without injury, Bubel said.
Firefighters from Barnard Fire Department assisted at the scene, he said.
Victoria E. Freile
Staff writer
Greece, NY
(December 15, 2006) — An electrical fault in an extension cord sparked a fire last night that damaged a garage in a Greece residence, firefighters said this morning.
Firefighters with the Ridge Road Fire District were called to 3446 Mt. Read Blvd. about 7:40 p.m. yesterday and doused the blaze which was under control in ten minutes, said Battalion Chief Alan Bubel.
Although the fire was confined to the attached garage, the house sustained smoke damage, he said.
No one was injured in the fire; the lone occupant of the house escaped without injury, Bubel said.
Firefighters from Barnard Fire Department assisted at the scene, he said.
Monday, December 18, 2006
LINK
Lincoln Fire Victim To Be Laid To Rest
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The 23-year-old pregnant woman killed in a Lincoln apartment fire last week will be remembered at a funeral on Monday at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home.
Linda Dawson died Thursday after an extension cord started a fire in her apartment, authorities said.
Dawson's 2-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, who was injured in the fire was released from the hospital on Saturday.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Faulty cord causes fire at auto dealership
Local Top Stories
Dealership Damaged By Fire
The fire caused an estimated $60,000 in damages.
Monday, December 11, 2006 - An east El Paso car dealership is hoping to move full speed ahead after a fire damaged their building and some vehicles. The fire started in one of the offices at the Gateway Nissan dealership. Investigators say an overheated electrical cord underneath a desk is to blame. Close to a dozen crews battled the fire. The biggest problem for firefighters was getting near the building since there were so many cars parked outside. The total damage to the building, including several cars inside that were damaged by the smoke, is about $60,000.
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It's a bad idea to overload a cord. Thin cords can't carry a lot of current. But still, it seems like property insurers would appreciate tenants who only use smoke shutoff power strips, so current is halted across overloaded cords.
Friday, November 24, 2006
lamp cord ignites bedding, dog killed
BY BRIAN WHITWHAM
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
A family’s dog is dead after it fell unconscious in a burning bedroom in Kitchener this morning.
Kitchener platoon chief Ron Taves said a neighbour called to report the fire at a semi-detached home at 426 Bankside Cres. shortly before 9:15 a.m.
Firefighters arrived moments later to find smoke pouring out of the top floor of the home, where the heat had busted a window. Taves said the flames were quickly shut down.
“The fire was contained to the bedroom,” he said. “But had it not been noticed as soon as it was, it would have gone into the attic.”
He said a man and woman live in the home with two daughters, aged 15 and 11 years old. The girls were at school and their parents were at work when the fire was reported, Taves said.
He said the firefighters searched the home and found the dog unconscious in the bedroom. The smoke inhalation is likely what killed the animal, he said.
The woman who owns the home arrived just before the paramedics finished trying to save her dog. She declined comment.
Taves said an investigation determined that the fire was caused by an electrical problem. It started in one of the girls’ rooms, where a lamp cord ignited some bedding.
“It was accidental,” Taves said. “It looks like the electrical cord had some kind of breakdown in it which caused it to overheat.”
The fire department believes there was about $50,000 damage to the home.
Nobody home. The lamp should have been plugged into a power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoffWednesday, November 22, 2006
Xbox suspected as cause of fire
Link to original story
Buyer Beware: Older Xbox Systems Can Spark Fires
Older Gaming Systems Still On Sale Second-Hand On Internet
Rob Johnson
Reporting
(CBS) Richard and Lori Steckler woke up to a fire in their Hollywood, Fla. apartment three years ago. Richard Steckler says that night he was playing videogames on a Microsoft Xbox system and fell asleep without turning it off.
"I woke up to this really bad smell. I saw black smoke with flames coming out of the black smoke," said Richard Steckler.
What was the cause of the blaze?
"The XBox. I was scared. I was absolutely petrified," Richard Steckler said.
Last year, after hearing dozens of complaints about alleged fires and over-heating problems, Microsoft replaced the power cords on some 14 million older Xbox systems made before October 23, 2003.
But the company's warning came too late for the Stecklers.
"They recalled 14 million power cords, after the fact. Unfortunately, it was too late," said Michael Feiner, the Stecklers's attorney.
The Stecklers filed suit against Microsoft in July, charging it marketed a defective product, knew about overheating problems and failed to warn its customers
Microsoft says the problem only affected fewer than one out of 10,000 older Xbox systems.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says since the older Xbox power cords were replaced they have heard no new reports of fires.
Some critics insist just replacing the power cord has not really fixed the overheating problem at all.
"Kids leave these on, they walk away, they come back, they might go to bed. They don't turn it off. These are all situations where you are leaving a product to really work beyond what it was meant to do," said Julie Vallesse of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
There are newer, more powerful game systems now hitting the market.
But there are hundreds of older Xboxes still selling all around the Internet, for about $150.
Federal officials are now worried a whole new generation of video gamers, unable to afford the latest, greatest hi-tech videogames could be buying older Xboxes with the original power cords still not replaced.
"We lost everything. …I lost my wedding dress, we lost out photo album. All the memories, I mean you can't replace our memories," said Lori Steckler. "You can't replace all that and I think that's what hurts the worst."
So if you're shopping for a pre-owned Xbox this holiday season, be sure to ask if it has Microsoft's' new replacement power cord.
Federal safety officials are warning all videogame systems need to be used with proper ventilation and turned off when you're done playing them.
A spokesperson for Microsoft had this to say about the report: "We sympathize with this family’s loss. This case is not resolved and is still pending. There is absolutely no basis to believe that the Xbox caused the fire involved. This matter involves a fire from 2003. At the time of the fire, the insurance company investigator determined the fire was caused by a different appliance. In sworn testimony, both plaintiffs testified they did not witness the fire start and no evidence of the Xbox allegedly involved was preserved.
"The safety of our products is of utmost concern and therefore the Xbox was rigorously tested and meets all applicable safety standards. To date there have been more than 24 million original Xbox consoles sold. A very small number of lawsuits have been filed alleging overheating issues with the original Xbox. Four of these suits have been voluntarily dismissed at the plaintiffs’ request and Microsoft has paid no money in these cases.
"We voluntarily established a power cord replacement program in February 2005 to address rare electrical component failures experienced in fewer than one in 10,000 consoles. It’s important to note that the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that the issues that were addressed by this program did not rise to a level necessary to require us to take any action."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
===
If you're going to leave your big videogame systems plugged in, you might consider using a
power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoff. Check the cords, too.
Buyer Beware: Older Xbox Systems Can Spark Fires
Older Gaming Systems Still On Sale Second-Hand On Internet
Rob Johnson
Reporting
(CBS) Richard and Lori Steckler woke up to a fire in their Hollywood, Fla. apartment three years ago. Richard Steckler says that night he was playing videogames on a Microsoft Xbox system and fell asleep without turning it off.
"I woke up to this really bad smell. I saw black smoke with flames coming out of the black smoke," said Richard Steckler.
What was the cause of the blaze?
"The XBox. I was scared. I was absolutely petrified," Richard Steckler said.
Last year, after hearing dozens of complaints about alleged fires and over-heating problems, Microsoft replaced the power cords on some 14 million older Xbox systems made before October 23, 2003.
But the company's warning came too late for the Stecklers.
"They recalled 14 million power cords, after the fact. Unfortunately, it was too late," said Michael Feiner, the Stecklers's attorney.
The Stecklers filed suit against Microsoft in July, charging it marketed a defective product, knew about overheating problems and failed to warn its customers
Microsoft says the problem only affected fewer than one out of 10,000 older Xbox systems.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says since the older Xbox power cords were replaced they have heard no new reports of fires.
Some critics insist just replacing the power cord has not really fixed the overheating problem at all.
"Kids leave these on, they walk away, they come back, they might go to bed. They don't turn it off. These are all situations where you are leaving a product to really work beyond what it was meant to do," said Julie Vallesse of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
There are newer, more powerful game systems now hitting the market.
But there are hundreds of older Xboxes still selling all around the Internet, for about $150.
Federal officials are now worried a whole new generation of video gamers, unable to afford the latest, greatest hi-tech videogames could be buying older Xboxes with the original power cords still not replaced.
"We lost everything. …I lost my wedding dress, we lost out photo album. All the memories, I mean you can't replace our memories," said Lori Steckler. "You can't replace all that and I think that's what hurts the worst."
So if you're shopping for a pre-owned Xbox this holiday season, be sure to ask if it has Microsoft's' new replacement power cord.
Federal safety officials are warning all videogame systems need to be used with proper ventilation and turned off when you're done playing them.
A spokesperson for Microsoft had this to say about the report: "We sympathize with this family’s loss. This case is not resolved and is still pending. There is absolutely no basis to believe that the Xbox caused the fire involved. This matter involves a fire from 2003. At the time of the fire, the insurance company investigator determined the fire was caused by a different appliance. In sworn testimony, both plaintiffs testified they did not witness the fire start and no evidence of the Xbox allegedly involved was preserved.
"The safety of our products is of utmost concern and therefore the Xbox was rigorously tested and meets all applicable safety standards. To date there have been more than 24 million original Xbox consoles sold. A very small number of lawsuits have been filed alleging overheating issues with the original Xbox. Four of these suits have been voluntarily dismissed at the plaintiffs’ request and Microsoft has paid no money in these cases.
"We voluntarily established a power cord replacement program in February 2005 to address rare electrical component failures experienced in fewer than one in 10,000 consoles. It’s important to note that the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that the issues that were addressed by this program did not rise to a level necessary to require us to take any action."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
===
If you're going to leave your big videogame systems plugged in, you might consider using a
power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoff. Check the cords, too.
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