NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 80

Firewatch
TEXAS
Plug adaptor blamed for fatal fire

floor area of 800 square feet (74
square meters). It was not equipped
with automatic detection alarms or a
sprinkler system.
Damage to the structure, collectively
valued at $64,000, was estimated at
$30,000.

KENTUCKY
Multiple casualties in fire ignited by
smoking materials and home oxygen
Three people died and five were injured
in an early morning apartment complex
fire that began when smoking materials
ignited bed linens. The fire was exacerbated by the use of home oxygen.
Firefighters were dispatched to the
scene at 1:15 a.m. after an occupant
called 911. Crews were informed by
dispatch while en route that flames
were coming from the roof of the
structure. Dispatch was then asked to
call a second alarm.
On arrival, crews reported that the
entire front of a two-story, 10-unit

ti tcetorp s'teL .dlrow gib a s'tI
.rehtegot

An elderly man with a mobility disability
died in an overnight fire that started
when heat from a multi-plug adaptor
ignited combustibles laying nearby,
with fire then spreading to furnishings
and room contents.
The fire department was summoned
to the scene when a neighbor spotted the fire and called 911 at 3 a.m.
According to newspaper reports, firefighters observed light smoke upon
arrival and found the victim in the
living room. He was pronounced dead
at the scene. The news reports indicated that the fire was limited to the
living room.
The fire department indicated that
heat from the multi-plug adaptor
ignited ordinary combustibles, but
no other information on the ignition
sequence was available.
The house was a single-story wood
frame construction with a ground

E07 APFN trap-6 eht ekaT
ruoy ta seireS esruoC enilnO
eht teg dna ecneinevnoc
werc ruoy peek ot woh-wonk
efas ecalpkrow dna

sderdnuh era ereht raey yrevE
-uoht dna shtaed rekrow fo
dluoc taht seirujni fo sdnas
gniwollof yb detneverp eb
rof dradnatS :E07 APFN 5102
-kroW eht ni ytefaS lacirtcelE
snoisivorp E07 APFN .®ecalp
dna yfitnedi uoy pleh lliw
lacirtcele ot erusopxe ecuder
.sdrazah ytefas

lightning strike during severe thunderstorms that passed through the area.
Although the dormitory was equipped
with a wet-pipe sprinkler system and
hard-wired smoke detectors connected
to a central station alarm monitoring company, the fire originated in
an area above the equipment, and
investigators believe that the fire
was ignited up to four hours before
it was detected. Overhead heat eventually caused six sprinklers to begin
operating.
The dormitory was constructed
with a heavy timber frame covered by
a brick exterior, with wood floor and
roof framing, as well as a wood roof
deck. The building occupied a ground
floor area of 9,600 square feet (892
square meters).
The fire caused an estimated
$500,000 in damage to the building,
valued at $1 million, and an additional
$300,000 in damage to contents,
valued at $500,000.

WE MADE THE RIGHT THING TO DO
EVEN EASIER TO DO.
NFPA 70E ELECTRICAL SAFETY TRAINING IN SPANISH.
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.
Safety training saves lives so we made training even easier to get with the new
6-part Spanish-language NFPA 70E Online Course Series. Take the classes at your
convenience and learn the latest best practices and procedures for preventing
electrical-related tragedies in the workplace. It's a big world. Let's protect it together.™

80 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 8

http://www.nfpa.org/cursosNFPA70E http://www.nfpa.org/cursosNFPA70E

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2018