Space heater blamed for fatal fire

Nipomo man dies in home fire

By Neil Nisperos/Staff Writer

An 83-year-old Nipomo man was killed Saturday morning after the electric space heater he had been using to keep warm at night caused a fire that consumed his entire house, said San Luis Obispo Cal Fire investigator Andy Andersen.

Robert Koch's 97-year-old wife, Dorothy Koch, and 58-year-old daughter, Roselle Hardin, escaped through a back window in the bedroom of the single story house, at 330 Verbena Street.

Andersen said Koch woke up at about 3 p.m. when the fire started and immediately alerted his family. Hardin told investigators that the smoke from the fire was two feet off the ground and that the fire had engulfed the area where the recliner was at the front of the house, Andersen said.

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This is the kind of fire which could be prevented by a SmokeShutoff power strip. As soon as smoldering starts, the power strip cuts off power to the space heater.

Space heater blamed

Hutchinson home 'annihilated' by fire

By John Green
jgreen@hutchnews.com

The Hutchinson News

April Smith awoke at about 3 a.m. Wednesday to find the curtains next to her bed on fire.

The young woman, her parents and infant child escaped the home at 3003 West 9th without injury, but the fire destroyed the uninsured home and most of its contents.

"It was annihilated," Smith said of the home she grew up in with her siblings. "It burned the entire bedroom it started in, floor to ceiling. It got up in the attic, causing damage in every room. It got so hot all the electronics in the house - the TV, stereo, CD player - melted throughout the house. The tiles and stuff on the ceiling melted."

The curtains where the fire started were next to a wall outlet, Smith said, which had a space heater plugged into it. The heater itself was not near the wall.

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I don't understand how there can be tipover shutoffs for space heaters, but not smoke shutoffs. Until there are, I think smart insurers and landlords should provide smoke shutoff power strips for residents to plug their space heaters in.

heater too close to curtain starts fire

LINK
By SUN MEDIA
Sat, March 17, 2007



An electric heater left too close to curtains was the cause of an apartment fire that caused $2 million damage.

Two firefighters suffered minor burns while battling a blaze that started about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Golden Arms apartment block in south St. Vital. A couple of tenants at the building on St. Michael Road just north of Bishop Grandin suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to hospital.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service platoon chief Murray Rougeau said the cause of the fire was an electric heater left near curtains in a fourth-floor suite. Some tenants were able to access their suites yesterday but it's not clear when they will be able to return home for good.

Fire started by space heater too close to curtains

05:46 PM EST on Monday, January 29, 2007

By 13News

A space heater’s to blame for starting a fire that’s left a Suffolk family without a home.

Fire started around 4:00 a.m. Saturday on Holland Road near Kenyon Roads.

Three people got out, but an 80-year-old man had to be rescued.

Suffolk fire investigators said the space heater was set too close to curtains and they caught on fire.

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UL tests space heaters to make sure they prevent fabric from coming in contact with the heater elements. The fires still happen. Might not, if they had used my power strip.

Space heater starts fatal trailer fire

(AP) Oakdale, Minn. Authorities believe a space heater caused a mobile home fire that killed an Oakdale, Minn. man.

The victim has been identified as Dale Powers, 61. He died while apparently trying to escape the fire in his mobile home Saturday morning, said Oakdale police Sgt. Jack Kettler.

Authorities found Powers unconscious only a few feet from the door when they forced their way into his burning home at the Whispering Oaks Mobile Home Park.

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Space heater blamed for furniture store fire

Gulfport firefighters were called to the Furniture Ranch just before 3pm. A steady stream of smoke rose from the roof of the structure.

Fire in the back of that building caused extensive damage inside. There was also heavy smoke damage next door in a space leased by FEMA. J&J Hair Design, which leases space in the same building as the furniture store, had less severe smoke damage.

One employee of the furniture store was taken to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation.

A part owner of the buildings, Margaret Jean Kalif, told WLOX News the fire may have been caused by a space heater.

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It bears repeating: space heaters should have a smoke shutoff or be attached to power strips with a smoke shutoff

3 escape fire caused by space heater

Northeast Salem
January 26, 2007

A portable heater in a bedroom of a northeast Salem house ignited nearby combustibles Thursday morning and caused about $68,000 in damage, Salem fire officials said.

Three of the house's four residents were home at the time. All escaped without injury, fire spokesman Bill Holmstrom said.

The fire occurred about 7:48 a.m. at 4788 Niles Ave. NE.

Firefighters said that flames were shooting out the windows of the single-story house.
....
-- Dennis Thompson Jr.

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Fire from space heater kills toddler

Westmoreland, Oneida County (WSYR-TV) – The Oneida County Sheriff’s Department says a space heater likely started the fire that killed a 1-year-old little girl.

Tiffany Grant was inside the home at 7326 East Main Street in the Town of Westmoreland, when the fire started at approximately 6:45 this morning. All five family members were sleeping at the time.

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Authorities are calling a fire on East Main Street a horrible tragedy. LINK

It's more than just a tragedy, in my opinion. It's preventable if we get the word out that either space heaters should have a smoke shutoff or be attached to power strips with a smoke shutoff.

Space heater blamed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Fire investigators have ruled a house fire in northeast Charlotte accidental.

The blaze was started by a space heater being too close to some items in the bedroom. It started about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on Breezewood Drive.

One person inside the home went to the hospital but is expected to be OK.

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Space heaters usually have tipover switches so they cut off if they get tipped over. But what they don't have is a smoke cutoff. I think my SmokeShutoff(TM) Power Strip can save lots of lives by shutting off space heaters at the first sign of smoke if a blanket or something comes in contact with it.

House fire caused by electric heater

LINK TO ARTICLE

Published: Monday, December 11, 2006 11:53 AM CST

Canton Fire Department Investigators have determined that a house fire that occurred on November 19, 2006, at 541 North Tenth Avenue in Canton was caused by an unattended electric space heater.

At approximately 2:32 p.m., Canton fire fighters were notified of a house fire. Responding fire personnel found heavy smoke and flames coming from the first floor windows on the southwest corner of the house. A box alarm assignment was requested calling in all off duty and paid on call Canton fire fighters. A fire attack was initiated through the front door to control the fire. A dog and puppy in the house at the time of the fire were rescued by fire fighters. No one was home at the time of the fire. There were no injuries as a result of the fire. Damage was set at $16,000.

Assistance at the scene was provided by the Canton Police Department and AmerenCIPS personnel. Fire fighters from the Buckheart Fire Protection District and Copperas Creek Fire Protection District staffed the Canton fire station during the fire to answer any other calls that might be received.

Fatal fire caused by space heater

LINK to original article

Bedias trailer fire kills man

By MATTHEW WATKINS
Eagle Staff Writer

Enlarge photo

Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Jerry Glen Goolsby, 63, died in his trailer Friday morning in Bedias when the trailer caught fire and was destroyed.

A 63-year-old man died early Friday when his Bedias trailer was destroyed by a fire.

Jerry Glen Goolsby was the only person in the trailer, off Texas 90 about a half-mile south of Bedias. Authorities said they are still investigating but suspect the fire was caused by a pair of space heaters that Goolsby had bought the day before to deal with the area's recent drop in temperatures.

Investigators said they found the two heaters in the rubble of the fire.

"We understand that he just bought some [heaters], and we are looking at whether or not they were the source of the fire," Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said. "[The trailer] is being sifted through and worked on today."

Sowell said the fire was reported at about 7 a.m. and firefighters responded in minutes, but by the time they arrived, the trailer was engulfed in flames.

Renee Mathews, who owns the Hands Across the Border Cafe restaurant near the trailer, said she saw smoke coming from the trailer when she arrived at work.

"I banged on the side to wake him up and then touched the door, and it was hot," she said.

Mathews said she called for Goolsby's neighbor, who lived in a trailer a few feet away.

"He told me to move, and he kicked the door down," Mathews said. "The oxygen from outside got in and ignited the fire, and it went up in flames. The flames went up way above the trailer."

Enlarge photo

Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland Restaurant owner Renee Mathews (right) and Grimes County Sheriff's Deputy Debi Atzenhoffer said Jerry Glen Goolsby visited the Hands Across the Border cafe several times a day for coffee.

She said the flames were so big that the two were unable to enter the trailer, which was about 20 feet long. Firefighters found Goolsby's body inside after extinguishing the fire.

Mathews said Goolsby had lived alone in the trailer for two or three years. He was retired, Mathews said, and was away from most of his family.

"He was just staying there living out the rest of his life," Mathews said. "He was a nice gentleman. Everybody liked him."

Mathews and Grimes County Sheriff's Deputy Debi Atzenhoffer said they met Goolsby every day at Mathews' restaurant or another cafe down the street and had coffee. He had his own table and chair in the back corner of the room, they said.

"We just talked," Mathews said. "He talked a lot about his family. The holidays were rough for him because he was away from them, and he missed them."

"We spent a lot of time together," Atzenhoffer said. "We are all such good friends that we kind of start to be like family."

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Space heaters ought to come with smoke detectors and shut off if there's smoke. But until then, I think a smoke shutoff power strip would do the job.

Building fire caused by unattended heater

Building fire caused by unattended heater

SEAFORD -- The Seaford Fire Department responded to a building fire that occurred Thursday around 7:21 p.m. in Building 10 of Chandler Heights in Seaford, fire officials said.

The building, undergoing renovations at the time of the fire, is owned by Better Homes of Seaford. A passerby noticed the fire and called 911. When firefighters arrived, they discovered that the heater had caught on fire.

State Fire Marshal's Office investigators have determined the fire was caused by an unattended drywall heater that ignited combustible flooring, officials said. Damages have been estimated at approximately $350.

Link

asst chief injured responding to space heater fire

Link
Rural/Metro assistant chief injured in wreck while responding to fire caused by space heater

TUCSON, Ariz. An assistant chief with Rural-Metro Fire Department was injured in a car wreck in Tucson yesterday morning while responding to a house fire.

Assistant Chief Shane Clark was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Clark was driving in an unmarked car with its lights and siren on. He was inching through an intersection when a 1993 Chevy Camaro hit his car.The driver -- 17-year-old Trevor Davis -- suffered minor injuries.Davis was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and for traveling at unreasonable speeds.Clark is expected to make a full recovery.No one was injured in the house fire Clark was responding to. The fire destroyed a mobile home and caused 25-thousand dollars worth of damage.The fire was caused by a space heater.___

Fire departments take risks any time an alarm is sounded. I think the smoke shutoff power strip would reduce the number of calls and fires if space heaters were shut off at the first sign of smoke.

Space heater destroys mobile home

Link to original article

BERKELEY SPRINGS — A Berkeley Springs couple lost everything they owned last week when a fire destroyed their mobile home.

Wayne and Pam Shanholtz — who are each disabled and unemployed — are in need of everything from clothes to a place to call home.

“I just want them to be taken care of,” said Angel S. Bearup, the couple’s niece.

“They lost everything that they had,” she said of her 60-year-old uncle and 52-year-old aunt.

Bearup lost her mother, Janet Bearup, earlier this year.

“We have had nothing but bad luck the whole year,” she said.

The couple were not at home when the fire ripped through their home at Dick’s Mobile Home Park off Whisner Avenue near downtown Berkeley Springs on Nov.6.

The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical in nature, Bearup said.

According to Bearup, her aunt and uncle have been facing difficult financial times and had no heat, so a space heater was plugged in to warm the two-bedroom, one-bath mobile home.

Four dogs, one cat and two birds in the mobile home were also displaced by the fire. They have been temporarily farmed out to family relatives.

Bearup said her aunt and uncle consider the pets “their children” and are distraught that they are unable to be with them.

The Red Cross put the couple up for three days in the Best Western in Berkeley Springs, but they had to leave. They are now with a friend allowing them to stay in a room above his business in Berkeley Springs.

The Shanholtz’s are in need of everything from clothes to money for medications.

“He can’t use his hands,” Bearup said of her uncle, so Wayne Shanholtz is seeking western shirts that snap.

Clothes, shoes and household items are at the top of the couple’s needs list.

Bearup said the Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Department, Hancock Volunteer Fire Department, Morgan County Rescue Squad Inc. and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department responded to the fire last Monday afternoon.

On Friday, volunteers from a Berkeley Springs church helped clear debris from the destroyed mobile home.

“What the fire didn’t get, the smoke and heat did,” Bearup said.

The owner of O’Bros Pizza in Berkeley Springs supplied a lunch Friday afternoon to volunteers clearing the site.

The mobile home was not insured.

“Any and all help is appreciated for them,” Bearup said.

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Another great application for a power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoff. Space heaters have a tipover shutoff, but not a smoke detector shutoff. They'd be a lot safer if they were plugged into one of my power strips.