Resistive wiring?

[mbrooke]

There is a simple name for that: fake news.

I can confidently say that here without jeopardizing my reputation, being slammed in the comments section, or the general public being offended.

Ignorance is bliss as the saying goes......

Especially when it pays you $$$$$ daily.

 

[102 Inspector]

As a firefighter for 33 years and a building official for 28 years, I think we can all agree that is was residual electrons spilling out from unused receptacles that could have been the problem. That is why it is important to place the safety caps in any plug not being used. Seriously, electrical gets blamed on a lot of fires that probably was not the true cause. In my area, we document our findings and let the insurance company determine if they want additional forensic investigation. As a victim of a house fire, I think that is was the result of a home stereo circuit board overheating but have no additional evidence. It was reported as electrical on the fire report. No one wants to state that the cause of a fire was undetermined, but sometimes that is just the way it has to be. If you point to a certain cause, then the lawyers start getting involved.

 

[ggunn]

As a firefighter for 33 years and a building official for 28 years, I think we can all agree that is was residual electrons spilling out from unused receptacles that could have been the problem. That is why it is important to place the safety caps in any plug not being used. Seriously, electrical gets blamed on a lot of fires that probably was not the true cause. In my area, we document our findings and let the insurance company determine if they want additional forensic investigation. As a victim of a house fire, I think that is was the result of a home stereo circuit board overheating but have no additional evidence. It was reported as electrical on the fire report. No one wants to state that the cause of a fire was undetermined, but sometimes that is just the way it has to be. If you point to a certain cause, then the lawyers start getting involved.

A cause for the fire must be entered, and "we don't have a clue" is not a valid response. "Electrical" is the catch-all.

 

[kwired]

As a firefighter for 33 years and a building official for 28 years, I think we can all agree that is was residual electrons spilling out from unused receptacles that could have been the problem. That is why it is important to place the safety caps in any plug not being used. Seriously, electrical gets blamed on a lot of fires that probably was not the true cause. In my area, we document our findings and let the insurance company determine if they want additional forensic investigation. As a victim of a house fire, I think that is was the result of a home stereo circuit board overheating but have no additional evidence. It was reported as electrical on the fire report. No one wants to state that the cause of a fire was undetermined, but sometimes that is just the way it has to be. If you point to a certain cause, then the lawyers start getting involved.

Fire at a friends house a few years ago. I was called right away but wasn't allowed in until after Fire marshal investigator had been there. Did not meet this investigator either.

Fire was in vicinity of a fireplace (wood burning fireplace). Most fire damage was confined to immediate fireplace vicinity and what was above that vicinity.

Fire investigator determined fire started immediately adjacent to the fireplace - was an outlet there that served a TV, feed through cable went on to fireplace blower unit. Investigator never gave an exact cause, just that it started at that outlet location.

Using this information when I was allowed in, wires were bare no insulation or sheath in that vicinity, but that is understandable. They were still connected to what was left of the receptacle, metallic components only. Things had been disturbed enough I wasn't going to say exactly what might of happened either. Did not notice any remains of an outlet box, but do understand a plastic box possibly was completely consumed in the fire or I just never found any remains - they had been disturbed by firefighters and possibly by fire investigator.

They were using fire place that night, they used it pretty much all the time during heating season. My best guess - glowing connection at terminations on that receptacle with the fireplace fan being only load contributing to it, is the most likely cause of that fire. I told them that was my best guess but I wasn't able to confirm it. This blower would only be a 100 VA load, if that.

 

[Sahib]

The thread title' resistive wiring' suggests quite another possibility : situations where code ampacity tables cannot be used.

 

[kwired]

The thread title' resistive wiring' suggests quite another possibility : situations where code ampacity tables cannot be used.

I chose that title because that was the term used in the news report.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

One of the more difficult things I've tried to explain to both HO's as well as business owners is that just because you see an electrical receptacle doesn't mean you could plug anything into it.

One of my wife's cousins (a CPA) had a store front office and wanted to save a few $$ on heating oil. Sooooooooo.. he went out and bought about 8 stand-alone heaters and started plugging them in all over the place. Now, while the receptacle circuits were all 20, amp the building was so old that it still had fuses (and it was a 3-phase panel to boot). Needless to say, he ran out of fuses and I had to not only re-arrange what was plugged into where, I had to run several new circuits and had to find re-settable fuses. What a PITA.

I assume they were plug fuses? I remember the "circuit breakers" that would screw into the holders, with a reset button.

 

[hbiss]

That's an awfully broad brush you are wielding. There are lots of folks in that age group who are competent in what they do and quite serious about it.

I see it all the time. There was an accident here awhile ago where an elderly handicapped person with hand controls on their car crashed through a fence at the commuter parking lot, went onto the track and hit the third rail. The result was a fire. This was the second time someone crashed through the fence at the handicapped parking at that station.

The report only said that the trains were delayed because of a small track fire.

Aside from this particular topic, how's the hiring of new electrical workers going these days?

-Hal