NFPA Journal - May/June 2012 - (Page 31)

smoke alarms, and the house did not have sprinklers. A neighbor discovered the fire when he saw smoke coming from the home. He went to the front door and called out to the elderly man, then went into the home to try to find him. However, he had to leave when heavy smoke turned to flames that quickly swept through the structure. The fire department received a 911 call at 5:20 p.m., and responding firefighters found that the fire had flashed over before they arrived, totally engulfing the house. It had already spread to two vehicles parked beside it and was also threatening two adjacent manufactured homes. Firefighters deployed three 1 34-inch ⁄ hose lines and a 2 12-inch line, first on ⁄ the exposures and then on the burning home. They managed to extinguish the blaze but, given the condition of the structure, did not attempt a rescue. They later found the victim’s body lying on the floor in the kitchen, where he had succumbed to smoke inhalation. Investigators determined that the fire started near the wood stove in the living room. The stove’s door was open and a bucket of kindling was sitting directly in front of it. A dustpan was just inside the door of the stove, and it appeared that burned wood inside it had been pushed to the side. While the exact scenario is not clear, investigators deduced that the fire began in the area of the wood stove and the kindling bucket. The victim’s son, who had visited his father earlier in the day, said that everything appeared to be normal, although his father had repeatedly told him he was cold. When he left, his father was sleeping and the heat was on. The wood stove was not in use, its door was shut, and three kindling buckets were lined up along the wall. The man also noted that his father had seemed weak. The house and its contents, valued at $25,000, were destroyed. A storage shed, a tool shed, and two vehicles sustained an additional $13,500 in damage. Three other homes were also damaged, with losses totaling $11,300. Man dies when he delays exit from burning home VIRGINIA—A 71-year-old man with a history of medical problems died when he delayed his escape from an early morning fire in his home to retrieve a pair of shorts. The woman who owned the house made it safely outside by herself. The three-bedroom, single-family, wood-frame ranch house, which was 60 feet (18 meters) long and 24 feet (7 meters) wide, had an attached carport MAY/JUNE 2012 NFPA JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2011 31 http://www.protectowire.com http://www.protectowire.com http://www.protectowire.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2012

Nfpa Journal - May/june 2012
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzz Words
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Treasurer's Report
Signal Concern
Giant Steps
13^3
Sprinklered Menagerie?
Free Samples
Eye on Health Care
Membership: The Sections
Expo Preview: Exhibitors' Showcase
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - May/June 2012