Engineers from General Motors and a few insurance representatives are investigating whether a Chevrolet Volt, or its charging cord or charging station, caused a fire in mid-April that destroyed a garage in England. What’s more, fire officials and auto experts were surprised when the unplugged hybrid electric car began smoldering…
Just in time for summer, a product warning goes out so that people don’t get severely burned during backyard cookouts. Here are the details: A jelly-like fuel made for ceramic firepots has been removed from store shelves this week after a pair of explosions severely injured three people in New…
Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, there have been two terrible incidents where people were killed or suffered third-degree burns because they did not take the time to plan an escape route from a building in the event of a fire. What’s more, they did not have fire extinguishers nearby…
On Thursday, May 26 in Belleville, NJ, a fire at the five-story Tudor Arms apartments resulted in the dramatic rescue of a 65-year-old woman, who was overcome by smoke and burns. Belleville Fire Prevention Specialist Ralph Castellano happened to be near the five-story, 50-unit apartment building around 3:30 p.m. when…
With the way that small children manage to get into everything, adults must be extra vigilant and careful when it comes to both fire safety and burn safety when kids are present. Two stories from this past week make this point very clearly. First, in northwest Florida, Meigs County police…
Here are two stories from this past week that should provide lessons about paying close attention to anything around the home that can cause a fire, or which can make your escape from a fire more difficult First: On April 20, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered the recall of…
In addition to the tragic shopping-mall and nightclub fires I detailed in my last blog entry on April 11, this next story should be a lesson to anyone about thinking of fire safety wherever you are. When at home, you simply must check all possible means of escape on a…
On Sunday, a fire broke out in a three-building shopping mall in the downtown area of Xining City in northwest China. According to media reports there one woman died, while another 12 were rescued and treated in the hospital for injuries mainly caused by smoke inhalation. The local media also…
An article written for the Associated Press this past week covered a topic that every head of a household should know something about: A regulation calling for homes built after January 1, 2011 to install fire sprinklers. This rule in some areas has ignited a fight around the country between…
Here are three items that were in the news last week that provide good lessons for anyone–but especially families–as they examine their home for fire hazards, and also to make sure their fire-escape plans are known by everyone in the family. First, New York city fire officials say a lumbering…