NCJ Number
140628
Journal
Fire and Arson Investigator Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1992) Pages: 35-41
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article discusses some fires of electrical origin that have been investigated by the author and some of the conditions under which such fires are possible.
Abstract
The article notes that many fires are classified as being due to electricity without any evidence. It is not sufficient to write in a report that "electrical fire" or even "electrical fault" or "overload" was the cause of the fire. Evidence must be presented as to the process that led to the fire. That process must be plausible under the conditions. In the author's discussion of fires caused by a current flowing in a complex ground path, he notes that they are usually difficult to analyze. The cause of these fires is usually found only after some distinctive information has been obtained, often only through fortuitous circumstances. Such information often comes from questioning the witnesses. Two causes of fires -- electrical contacts mostly in distribution boxes and faulty current through grounded objects, including soil -- account for approximately 50 percent of the electrical-fire causes that the author has investigated. The author cautions against hasty conclusions in cases that involve ground faults as the cause of fire. Although such fires happen, they are not common. To conclude that this is the fire cause, the investigator must be able to find the ground path through metallic objects or soil without any air gap. 3 figures