BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 09:51 PM

I have a lawyer. He is supposed to be a pretty good one. He sued the US Olympic Team to get a Guam kid reinstated when he was booted for no good reason. He won that one.

I am getting used to the idea of the lawsuit. At first it scared me but now it only scares me.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 10:28 AM

When I did my Building Warden Fire Safety Training Course, it was known by Fire Depts that any electrical equipment left turned on - and that even included the 'standby mode' that your TV is on so that it can switch on via remote control - is liable to have something go wrong and may start a fire. Always turn ALL electrical appliances off when going away on holiday - even empty out the fridge and turn off your hot water heater.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: GUEST,Caroline
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 05:17 AM

My home was destroyed by a Viewsonic P815 21" monitor. We were fast asleep when it happened....I don't recommend Viewsonic monitors!

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 09:48 AM

When did this happen?

(I use a ViewSonic PerfectFlat A95f, but I turn off the power to it when I'm finished using it.)

Brett, I have been wondering how things have gone in regard to the fire and landlord lawsuit. I haven't kept up on your other threads--what news?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 08:38 PM

Things are quiet on the Guam front. I think the landlord may have gone to his lawyer who explained that all he was going to get out of me was my security deposit. At least I hope that's what happened. The ID theft has topped out at around $26K. No new events on that score... so far.

The monitor and all the computer hardware was plugged into a surge protector. The power was off at the surge protector. There was no electricity going to any part of the computer desk at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 09:58 PM

So it looks like somebody tried to fake a 'monitor fire'?

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 10:47 PM

They are known to retire stolen cards after a few months, then bring it out again in a year or so. If the activity slacks off, don't think that it has gone away, it has just gone dormant for a while.

I use a surge protector also, and bought one for the highest rating that I could reasonably afford (there is overkill after a while on these things). It not only makes sense for a power-off reason, like the monitor, it also means that your computer can't turn on by itself if some malware has programmed it to turn on at 3am and purge all of your files or send your personal data to a third world country.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: hesperis
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 01:12 AM

Oh, this is horrible. :(

*hugs* Here's hoping that things get a lot better, fast.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 06:24 AM

Hope all is settling down now...

If these fires are such a problem, why do house builders always insist on putting wall sockets at ankle height or tucked in stupid corners? If you can't reach the sockets, how you going to switch them off?

And why are electrical items designed to be left on? How many items does a person need with a clock on it? We have time display on the video, the DVD, the stereo, and microwave. You can even get them on fridges, freezers and printers. Turn these off and you have to spend ages resetting all the clocks before the damn stuff will record what you want at the time you want it, or else live with those annoying flashing signals telling you to set the time again.

I once read that more monitor fires were caused by dust and debris (for this, read pet hair, paper dust and coffee spills) in the back of the unit, than by any power surge. My workfriend in IT certainly seems to think so... he's in charge of about 3,000 computers (1,000 in my building alone) and never had a fire in any that weren't caused by some twit spilling coffee, covering the vents with paper piles or by dropping it whilst still plugged in.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 09:08 AM

There is currently a 'meme' circulating in the media here about turning off all appliances on 'standby mode' to save power - but the damn stupid things lose their clocks and won't work because they don't have a backup battery that we users can access to keep the clock alive when the power is off, so we are stuffed. About the only thing that will keep the clock going is the PC and some bedside alarm clocks.

I've set up my PC arrangement now so that with one switch I can turn off modems, printers, speakers, etc - these all have power packs that draw current even when the item is switched off anyway - it all adds up.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 09:18 AM

I found the remains of a pillow on top of the remains of the monitor. I showed it to the fire investigator and he took the remains away with him. The official cause of the fire has been ruled as "accidental" because there is no way we can convince anyone that we do not ordinarily store pillows on top of our computer monitor. My girlfriend was the last person in that room and there were no pillows in evidence at the time.

I hadn't thought of the thieves bringing the cards back into use. It shouldn't matter because two of the three card accounts are now closed and the third one has been replaced and the old account closed. Anyone who accepts a charge without checking the account is risking his own money.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: hesperis
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 02:01 PM

Accidental, when there was a robber that tried to cover up evidence of identity theft by setting a fire?

Stupid, incompetent... arrrgh!

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Naemanson
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 02:51 AM

Hesperis, I agree with you completely. MY list of adjectives includes those two and many, many more.

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 05:48 AM

1 solved accident is better than 1 unsolved arson case...

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Nov 04 - 05:12 AM

Cheaper too... for them. Accident solved, no more money needed. Unsolved arson, money needed to follow up, proceed with investigations, more paperwork, more wages needed to pay those doing the paperwork... it all boils down to who looks the best on paper.

Of course, your premiums will now go through the roof because although the pillow was "accidentaly" left on the monitor, you are now considered a risk because you are stupid enough to leave soft furnishings on electrical items..... if not a potential self arson risk, to claim the insurance.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: GUEST,Caroline Edwards
Date: 02 Nov 04 - 05:36 PM

Our house was completely destroyed by a Viewsonic 21" monitor. The remains from the room above it fell through the floor when the 2nd story collapsed. Don't know how extensive your damage was....if it was possible for it to come from the room above.

I've been doing internet research and have come across many people who's monitors started to emit smoke/fire, but almost all of them were lucky enough to have been nearby to prevent catastropic damage.

Have you researched to see if others have had similiar problems? Don't most monitors also have vents in the back/sides of them?

Subject: RE: BS: Fire in Computer Monitor Destroys Home
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Nov 04 - 02:33 AM

The houses here in Guam are built of concrete. Actually most of them look like bunkers. What would be a disasterous storm for Florida is a minor annoyance here, and we get a lot more of them.

The long and the short of it is that the building contained the fire damage to the room where the fire happened but the smoke and soot filled the house.

This thread was the beginning of my "research" into other fires caused by monitors. Since all the hub bub has calmed down I have quit pursuing it though I do have an experiment planned to recreate the incident.