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Structure fire caused by tradespeople
I wonder how many of you have been to structure fires where the cause is identified as "tradesman /people".
I have to been to plenty over the years and know of plenty of others, by way of an example here are some that I can recall:
Plumbers brazing copper pipes setting fire to insulation paper in wall cavities - partial loss of brand new family home;
Carpet cleaning crew - trying to remove a really stubborn stain in very upmarket architect built home, used nearly a gallon of solvent then started the carpet scrubbing machine - result building largely demolished by the ensuing explosion, both workers badly burned;
Painters using heat guns and torches to remove old paint - total loss of family homes;
Demolition workers removing old staircase, used a gas torch to cut bolts (after soaking said bolts in penetrating oil) - total loss of a grandstand at a racecourse.
I could go on and on but am interested to hear you stories as well.
Please tell us about the reaction of the tradesman/woman as well.
I had one plumber who insisted the fire in the bathroom had nothing to do with him and could we please move our truck so he could leave! This gentleman didn't want to give us his details and when I tried to copy them down of the side of his van he tried to shield them with his body!
I have to been to plenty over the years and know of plenty of others, by way of an example here are some that I can recall:
Plumbers brazing copper pipes setting fire to insulation paper in wall cavities - partial loss of brand new family home;
Carpet cleaning crew - trying to remove a really stubborn stain in very upmarket architect built home, used nearly a gallon of solvent then started the carpet scrubbing machine - result building largely demolished by the ensuing explosion, both workers badly burned;
Painters using heat guns and torches to remove old paint - total loss of family homes;
Demolition workers removing old staircase, used a gas torch to cut bolts (after soaking said bolts in penetrating oil) - total loss of a grandstand at a racecourse.
I could go on and on but am interested to hear you stories as well.
Please tell us about the reaction of the tradesman/woman as well.
I had one plumber who insisted the fire in the bathroom had nothing to do with him and could we please move our truck so he could leave! This gentleman didn't want to give us his details and when I tried to copy them down of the side of his van he tried to shield them with his body!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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I'd get the thread moving for you. But I haven't been to a structure fire caused by tradies! Other sorts of fire... Like the guy welding on a day of Total Fire Ban (no fires in the open, at all) out in the country. Resulting in multiple tanker Strike Teams, helitack support, the works. When I left the area near his work place, he was still trying to explain to the police that he really hadn't done anything wrong.
With your plumber, did the police have words? I think we'd be leaving the pumper right where it was while we waited for the fire investigation team to arrive.
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Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on
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About a year ago we got paged out to a "reported explosion and possible fire" at a residence. When we arrived, there was a young man(early 20's) sitting in the front yard in a somewhat dazed state. There was no fire showing but some minor smoke in the living room of the house. There was also the strong smell of fumes that smelled a lot like turpentine. Once we established that there was no working fire, we began talking to/treating the pt. and the story came out. He had minor burns on his arms and face and no eyesbrows, etc. It seems he had been contracted to sand and varnish the homeowners hardwood floors in the living room. After varnishing the floor of a 30'x40' room, he paused in the front door to admire his work and light up a smoke. He landed in the front yard about 25 feet from the door.
Not a lot of fire damage, but the potential was there! Also proving one of my favorite expressions:"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!"
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081120-9999-1m20hilton.html
It's not just the small guy either. This was a pretty serious incident in a large hotel construction.
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Permalink Reply by Leah K. Edwards on
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November 18, 2008 The Shreveport Little Theatre burned, cause of fire, wielders left to go down the block to eat lunch, one stayed behind saw fire tried to put it out with a water hose then used 2 extinguishers before finnally calling 911. It took about 50 ff's about one hour to put out flames and serveral more for over haul. What's really sad about this is they were rebuiding the stage house that was destroyed by fire in 1986. The Shreveport Little Theater is the longest continueous running theatre in the U.S, it is in it's 87th concecutive season. They started in 1927 at various places in the city until March 14,1927 when they moved into their permanent location on Margaret Place. Now they are going to have to rebuild almost the entire building because of carelessness.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Montgomery on
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Sounds like this one just reported here today.
Retirees' home explodes during renovation http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1...
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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One of the local departments (Stonington Borough) was dispatched for heavy smoke and fire reporting from a LARGE former mill complex. Upon arriving on scene they found a 3 story brick building heavily involved with extension to multiple exposures (including cars)
Cause of fire was a company contracted to cut out old sprinkler pipes.
View the photos on this site..
http://www.stoningtonct.com/firephotos1.html
The next day (aftermath photos) photos are on the link at the bottom of the first day's page.
The fire was amazing to behold. The oil soaked floors (from the mill) made this a massive fire in very little time. If the wind had been blowing the prevailing way, they would have potentially lost about 50 homes
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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How about the roofers with the hot tar? Seen several of those!
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Permalink Reply by rfdjumper on
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The Conshohocken fire of Aug 08 was caused by a tradesman.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6325577
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Permalink Reply by Glenn.D.C_15 on
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We've had a couple do-it-youself guys TRY and do flooring. In 2 seperarte incidents, both occurred in the basement. In the first one, the guy just put down the contact cement, and i believe it was his OLD shop vac that somehow ignited it lots of smoke, very little fire. In the second one, happened not too long ago, same thing, just put down cement, had the carpet over it, then the furnace kicks in, igniting the fresh contact cement, causing a flash fire, again, lots of smoke, very little to no fire.
The other I can recall, was a little more substancial. In a distribution warehouse, there was a welder doing his thing next to a wall, where the insulation had been exposed. A spark caught the insulation and took off. Welder tries to dump one extinguisher on it, goes across the warehouse (maybe 100 feet) grabs another extinguisher, by the time he gets back to it, the fire was already in the wall, and licking the ceiling.
In all these instances, I do not recall what actions were taken against the workers
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Permalink Reply by Adam Box on
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Not exactly a tradesman but a buddy of mine responded to a structure fire a couple years ago to this:
The homeowner had just finished renovations to his house (had redone most of it with cedar wood.) To celebrate he was smoking a cigar outside and just threw it into the dumpster of construction debris. Long story short the fire went up the side and across the attic. Total loss. (As far as I know.)
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Had a DYI FF set his place on fire. He was refinishing the hardwood floors at his place. He placed all the sawdust from sanding in a trashcan and set it in the kitchen. A couple of hours later, enough heat built up and poof. Fortionately, the smoke detectors alerted the neighbors and the fire was pretty much contained to the trash can. Lots of smoke but very little fire damage. Forcible entry did more damage than the fire. But, to this day, some 20 years later, he's still reminded of it.
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