NFPA Journal - November/December 2017 - 82

Firewatch
kerosene heater in low light conditions. Occupants attempted to fight the
fire before calling 911, but the victim
became trapped inside. Civilians outside the house broke windows prior to
the fire department's arrival, aiding the
fire spread.
In news reports of the incident, the
deputy fire chief cautioned that residents using kerosene heaters should
take heaters outside and wait until they
are completely cooled before refueling.
The house was constructed with
masonry walls, a wood floor and roof
deck, and a built-up roof cover. It
occupied a ground-floor area of 1,600
square feet (149 square meters).
The structure and its contents,
valued at $83,000, were a total loss.

SOUTH DAKOTA
Furnace vent fire in manufactured
home claims life of occupant
A male occupant of a manufactured
home died in an early morning fire

that began when heat from the furnace ignited paneling around the
furnace vent.
Firefighters were dispatched to the
fire after a neighbor saw smoke coming
from the home and called 911. The first
engine was on the scene eight minutes
after dispatch. An interior attack team
entered the house through the front
door and made their way to the rear of
the house, where they found the occupant, who was already deceased.
In a report, the fire department
noted the dispatch center received a
call on a non-emergency line approximately 70 minutes before the fire
was reported to 911. The dispatcher
was only able to hear the sounds of
beeping and commotion and the call
was abruptly terminated. The fire
department believes that the noise
heard by the dispatcher was the sound
of smoke alarms in the victim's home,
which were later found to be operational. Because the call was made to the

non-emergency line, the dispatcher was
unable to track the phone number to
an address, and on-duty police officers
were notified of the situation.
Investigators indicated that the
ceiling around the furnace flue was
sagging, causing the clearance to be
too close to wood paneling, which was
ignited near the vent. News reports
indicated that fire damage was limited
to a 15-foot (5-meter) radius around the
home's natural gas furnace.
The home was of wood construction
with a rubber roof. It had a groundfloor area of 700 square feet (65 square
meters).
No information was available on the
property loss associated with the fire.

COLORADO
Sprinkler extinguishes candle fire in
university apartment building
Firefighters were dispatched at 5:45
p.m. to a university apartment complex
following the activation of a fire alarm.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2017
