Portable heater ignites wood at plating company

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2000 by Tremblay, Kenneth J

CALIFORNIA

A portable heater was unintentionally left on at a plating company over a weekend, igniting wood and destroying the building. Investigators had difficulty gaining access to the building because the roof had collapsed and hazardous materials had been released.

The single-story building was of concrete tilt-up construction, with a wooden roof. The 150by 150-foot (46- by 46-meter) building had no sprinklers or fire detection equipment.

A police patrol called the fire department to report the blaze at 1:58 a.m., by which time it had spread throughout the process manufacturing area and burned through the roof. Nearly a week passed before investigators wearing level B suits could enter the building to determine the fire's cause and origin.

The heaviest damage was in the shop, where the fire apparently began on the floor, near several electrical panels and a step-down transformer. Investigators noted that a portable electric heater was connected to an extension cord and plugged into a duplex outlet. Using a similar heater found nearby for comparison, they determined that the burned heater was operating before. the fire.

Interviews with the company's owner revealed that the heater was used to reduce condensation on a nearby rectifier. When not in use, the heater was stored behind a transformer, where it was found.

Apparently, the heater had been left on, igniting nearby wooden combustibles, and lack of detection equipment and sprinklers allowed the fire to burn undetected until police discovered it.

The loss to the building, which was valued at $1.2 million, was estimated at $1 million. Its contents, valued at $1 million, were a total loss. There were no injuries.

Kenneth J. Tremblay is a lieutenant with the Lexington, Massachusetts, Fire Department.