[MHElectric]

Forgetting all the reports and stories that are usually based on guesses, lack of evidence, and sometimes plain hard judgement calls - what, in your professional experience have been the actual causes of electrical fires that you have seen first hand?

I would say misusing appliances would be the cause of a very large number of fires.

 

[Next72969]

Carlon boxes

 

[Next72969]

Seu is a close second

 

[chewy]

Romex and aluminium ladders.

 

[Elephante]

Loose neutrals

 

[lefleuron]

Those cheap Walmart power stips with 10 outlets and a nylon carpet.

 

[denny3992]

Those cheap Walmart power stips with 10 outlets and a nylon carpet.

They love to plug 2-3 heaters/heat lamps into a power strip at work and wonder why they turn brown and melt?? I lmao the other day when i opened a shed with natural gas regulators and valves and they had 2-heat lamps in the shed plugged into a
Power strip...wtf am i working with rocket scientists?

 

[FrunkSlammer]

Swapping a 15A breaker that keeps tripping with a 30A breaker that doesn't trip.

 

[micromind]

Swapping a 15A breaker that keeps tripping with a 30A breaker that doesn't trip.

Or worse yet, all 30 amp screw-in fuses in an old panel.

 

[micromind]

Ungrounded metal ductwork in a styrofoam plant that used pentane as an expansion agent.

That was a pretty good-sized fire......

 

[dmxtothemax]

The two main causes of electrical fires would have to be overloaded circuits,
And loose joints.
Both of which are man made..t

 

[cdnelectrician]

Chromium dust and 600v twist locks.

 

[rrolleston]

Those cheap Walmart power stips with 10 outlets and a nylon carpet.

Won't even allow those in our home. I have seen those cause so many problems. I do wonder if they will make them TR eventually but probably not because they are made in china or somewhere else.

 

[joe cool]

For all the scary stuff I have seen (especially penny behind the screw-in fuse) the only actual big electrical fire I have dealt with was an oscillating wall fan that pinched it's cord and started a fire. The other big fire was a grease fire and a range good that just dumped into the attic and started the trusses on fire. That wasn't really electrical, the range vent was working great up until the very end. There's been plenty of melted breakers and bus bars, but no fire.

 

[Jlarson]

-loose connections
-lamp cord
-50a single poles
-cletis

 

[BBQ]

Loose connections / poor termination.

Water.

 

[micromind]

-loose connections
-lamp cord
-50a single poles
-cletis

One of the casinos around here has a bunch of 18/2 lamp cord running all over a T-bar ceiling. It powers 12V lighting.

You can smell hot plastic up there, and the insulation is shiny. I didn't touch it, mainly because I was pretty sure with the insulation being that hot, it'd short out.

I asked the maintenance guys who ran it why they used lamp cord. Their answer "It's only 12 volts".

Idiots......

 

[220/221]

what, in your professional experience have been the actual causes of electrical fires that you have seen first hand?

I'm going with heat......from high resistance. :thumbsup:

 

[gold]

Stupidity

 

[Spunk#7]

Using lamp cord for an extension cord on those little,portable electric heaters. It sets the furniture,bed,etc.on fire.