Can this happen?

Discussion in 'Electrical Forum discussion & Blog' started by Cookie, Mar 5, 2008.

  1. Cookie

    Cookie .

    Anyone ever hear of this? Can this happen? I don't use these but...

    Received from a friend who is in the insurance
    property business. It is well worth reading.

    The original message was
    written by a lady whose brother and wife learned a
    hard lesson this past week.

    Their house burnt down.. nothing left but ashes.
    They have good insurance so the house will be
    replaced and most of the contents. That is the good
    However, they were sick when they found out the
    cause of the fire. The insurance investigator
    sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had
    the cause of the fire traced to the master
    He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in
    the bathroom. She listed the normal
    things....curling iron, blow dryer.
    He kept saying to her, 'No, this would be something
    that would disintegrate at high temperatures'. Then
    her sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade
    Plug-In, in the bathroom.

    The investigator had one of those 'Aha' moments. He
    seen more house fires started with the plug-in type
    room fresheners than anything else. He said the
    plastic they are made from is THIN. He also said
    that in every case there was nothing left to prove
    that it even existed.

    When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the
    two prongs left from the plug-in were still in

    Her sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a
    small night light built in it. She said she had
    noticed that the light would dim and then finally
    go out. She would walk in to the bathroom a few
    hours later, and the light would be back on again.

    The investigator said that the unit was getting
    too hot, and would dim and go out
    rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled
    down it would come back on. That is a warning sign

    The investigator said he personally wouldn't have
    any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in
    his house. He has seen too many places that have
    been burned down due to them.
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2009
  2. leejosepho

    leejosepho DIY scratch-pad engineer

    If that can actually happen, I would be interested in hearing what they manufacter has to say. But, I have heard even AC adapters can overheat and catch fire.
  3. Rancher

    Rancher Guest

  4. Speedy Petey

    Speedy Petey Licensed Electrical Contractor

    NY State, USA
    When I read it I thought it sounded like some e-mail that everyone's mother forwards to everyone in their address book.
    I'm surprised I haven't gotten this from my Mom yet.
  5. Cookie

    Cookie .

    Thanks guys. I had been asked to look into this for something. Rancher, I never thought of looking there! Good going. There is a picture that is with this, but, I can't post images, I am not that computer savvy. I sent it to Terry and asked Terry to post it for me. I thought it was interesting. I have no idea what it really is...I was told it was the picture of the 2 prongs burned and stuck into the charred outlet. I will let you guys look at it, and make your decisions on this, too.
  6. Chris75

    Chris75 Electrician

    Litchfield, CT
    That is so true... :D
  7. Cookie

    Cookie .

    Believe it or not this is being circulated again. So, your moms might be getting it again and hence, so you will, too. But, humor your moms they are old, ;) and still wiser...
  8. Bill Arden

    Bill Arden Computer Programmer

    MN, USA
    in a non-related, but true story.

    I had a "UL approved" power strip short out and go bang.
    A little internal plastic piece separating power and ground broke off and caused it to short out.

    It didn't start on fire though.

    So remember UL only tests safety, not whether it will function reliably. :rolleyes:
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