I have noticed that our lovely town has a fire problem. The big fire, before I arrived, was on Main St. where the Paramont theater once stood. I waltz down memory lane: I am sure there are house and apartment building fires I will have missed. But here is a list of fires I have witnessed:
Wilder block, Lawrence block, Sam’s, 214 Elliot, 107 Elliot, 119 Green St., 72 Green St., Brooks House-
Some say the fires are because Brattleboro has so many old wooden buildings. I am sure part of the problem is that the buildings are not sprinklered. Cigarettes & cooking grills may have contributed. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons we are seeing a move towards smoke free housing.
computer fires
Why do fires start? A new wrinkle in my investigation of fires in houses is that the computer can be the source. This is a cautionary tale. Most people have computers and they do occasionally cause fires. We would be wise to make sure we are not at risk. I am giving you a link to the source of my info:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dell-battery-fire.htm
If the battery gets hot through use or recharging, the pieces of metal can move around, much like grains of rice in a pot of water. If a piece of metal gets too close to the separator, it can puncture the separator and cause a short circuit. There are a few possible scenarios for what can go wrong in the case of a short circuit:
If it creates a spark, the flammable liquid can ignite, causing a fire.
If it causes the temperature inside the battery to rise rapidly, the battery can explode due to the increased pressure.
If it causes the temperature to rise slowly, the battery can melt, and the liquid inside can leak out.