CS House Fires (foreclosure, softener, dangerous)

[McGowdog]

What's up with 6 fires in 8 days?

A candle burning? Christmas trees? What is going on?

We have a toaster oven and I don't like it. It may have a thermo type shut down, but it has no timer. We were leaving together early one morning and I had put something in the toaster-oven, not the toaster, and when it finished... I grabbed it and my coffee and headed down the road. I was wondering if I'd shut that thing off! I headed back and checked. Sure enough, I left it on at 350°. I unplug the thing before I leave the house now. Our dryer has been getting our clothes too hot lately. Not always, but sometimes. When it does it, the top of the dryer is super hot and the clothes are too hot to touch. We've been unplugging the dryer (220) when it's done.

So why so many these days? Is it just the local news coverage having nothing else to report or is this frequency of fires normal and why does it take longer than a day to find the source or cause of a fire?

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

What's up with 6 fires in 8 days?

An alternative to foreclosure sales, perhaps?

[sskkc]

Dryer tip: Just pulling the lint out of the trap does not clean the trap. If you use fabric softener sheets, a residue builds up on the lint screen. This needs to be washed at least once a month.

I told my MIL a couple years ago. She went home and tested her lint screen by attempting to run water through it. It looked clean/clear, but the water pooled on the screen and barely dripped through. That might've been a close call!

[froggin4colorado]

DH is a fireman...this is normal for this time of year. Fires and suicides/murders peak during the holidays.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

What's up with 6 fires in 8 days?

A candle burning? Christmas trees? What is going on?

We have a toaster oven and I don't like it. It may have a thermo type shut down, but it has no timer. We were leaving together early one morning and I had put something in the toaster-oven, not the toaster, and when it finished... I grabbed it and my coffee and headed down the road. I was wondering if I'd shut that thing off! I headed back and checked. Sure enough, I left it on at 350°. I unplug the thing before I leave the house now. Our dryer has been getting our clothes too hot lately. Not always, but sometimes. When it does it, the top of the dryer is super hot and the clothes are too hot to touch. We've been unplugging the dryer (220) when it's done.

So why so many these days? Is it just the local news coverage having nothing else to report or is this frequency of fires normal and why does it take longer than a day to find the source or cause of a fire?

Re: the dryer. Sounds like the exhaust line is clogged and air cannot escape. Any fireman will tell you that's quite dangerous. Despite having a lint filter that you clean often, the exhaust lines do fill up with lint. If yours exits near ground level, often mice or moles get in there and build nests. If you can, put your hand over the outside vent while the dryer is running and feel for air movement coming out, if little or none, that line is clogged. Easy fix.

[COflower]

Oddly, the winter is prime time around here for house fires.

I can't say much more than that. I mean people need to be careful 365 and on the leap year 366.

[McGowdog]

Thx 4 the dryer advice.

Now it's 7 fires in 9 days. What bugs me is they say they don't know the cause yet, after a whole day they still don't know... but they make the claim that all the fires have one thing in common- they're all preventable.

How do you know they were all preventable? How do you know something didn't spontaneously combust? If it's a Christmas Tree fire, give us the scoop.

[froggin4colorado]

DH says, "All fires are preventable...if it is a XMas tree fire, if you had kept it watered, it wouldn't burst into flames. Investigation takes time on complex fires, not all are easy and able to be determined in a day." To be honest, I usually let it go in one ear and out the other when it comes to stuff like this. GRIN!! I guess that comes with being a fire fighter wife.