Fires occurring on typically humid days. Suspecting improper grounding or leakage current.
No, in my case i have a very localized fire within the joist bay, slow burning fire that smolders away 2" x 12" and 2" x 4". when we get there sometimes i get low voltage reading most of the time none. It seems like the fire has been smoldering burning slow for prolong time before it gets discovered by the occupants.I have a video (it was from Mike Holt but don't know if still available) called Open Neutrals, done by the City of Miami Fire Dept, showing fires started in dwelling units due to an open neutral...the neutral current found its way into stucco lath and metal pipes, over a long period of time causing pyrophoric carbonization and starting fires. It was amazing to see the metal lath glowing red hot...Miami FD had heard about pyrophoric carbonization but had never seen it
Is this what is happening in your case? I don't know.
Yes i have reviewed that.There is a theory that over time low level electrical current passing though wood can result in pyrophoric carbonization that can result in a fire.
It is not hard to determine that the fire has been burning slow and not rapid with in the wall bay, usually we are talking about 4' by 4' section of wood members just turned to ash with in the wall.Going to need a lot more forensic information than that to even make a guess. Have you determined an origin for any of these suspect fires? How do you know about the "smoldering within walls". I assume the smoldering was a precursor to the actual fire?
-Hal
this fire usually occur in the rain season for example when we have drizzling rain for four days, then we see spike in fires with in the walls.10' sounds like a non-electrical cause but leakage current can be checked.
Having seen 400 of these, what else stands out?
Sticking pins in a city map may show clusters.
Making a histogram of
month vs. # of fires
may show a spike.
Heating Degree Days is on the Web for many cities but maybe the National Weather Service can provide you a map of
month vs. Relative Humidity. They should talk to you, it's your tax dollars at work.
Is there any consistency in the type of room having the wall with a fire inside it, such as a kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, closet, etc.?No, in my case i have a very localized fire within the joist bay, slow burning fire that smolders away 2" x 12" and 2" x 4". when we get there sometimes i get low voltage reading most of the time none. It seems like the fire has been smoldering burning slow for prolong time before it gets discovered by the occupants.
No, in my case i have a very localized fire within the joist bay, slow burning fire that smolders away 2" x 12" and 2" x 4". when we get there sometimes i get low voltage reading most of the time none. It seems like the fire has been smoldering burning slow for prolong time before it gets discovered by the occupants.
... in my case i have a very localized fire within the joist bay, slow burning fire that smolders away 2" x 12" and 2" x 4".
It is not hard to determine that the fire has been burning slow and not rapid with in the wall bay, usually we are talking about 4' by 4' section of wood members just turned to ash with in the wall.