Dryer Fire Safety

[combo52]

Putting Out Dryer Fires

All this discussion of water being applied to hi-voltage [ 1000 volts or more ] fires has nothing to due with dryer fires, as my brother Phil says there would be no problem taking the garden hose to a flaming clothes dryer [ I would even do this in bare or soaking wet feet ] The greatest voltage potential in an electric dyer is just 120 volts to ground. Now granted I am not going to wrestle the dryer away from the wall while standing in water, but I am certainly not going to waste valuable time putting out the fire running around looking for a circuit breaker or trying to unplug it if I have a hose available.

I think that the fire safety experts that REQUIRE a water sprinkler head over EVERY dryer installation in new housing, without requiring an electrical shut-off before the sprinkler activates know a little more than most of us.

John L.

 

[arbilab]

I've accidentally watered a 120V socket with a hose in bare feet on concrete and while it may or may not be life threatening depending on circumstances it is NOT comfortable.

Yes thanks, we KNOOOOW a dryer is only 120V to ground and that kV powerlines are irrelevant in that context. But kVs make better stories.

Now we know that NFPA says dryers AND washers cause one structure fire out of 22. So they definitely happen and you don't want that. But has anyone said WHY? As in root cause? I've never seen one firsthand or heard of one secondhand (media/statistics is third hand). The limit thermos are already redundant. Are BOTH of them failing in the closed position?

Is the machine misoperated, as in flammable solvent residue or clogged lint trap? We're glomming gas and electric together in these stats. How many are gas leaks? My furnace had one, caught on inspection, but even so it never blew up. IOW, what says what's being added actually addresses an actual cause? Can't outlaw stupidity.

The autoignition point of cotton is 765F. For gasoline it's 475–536F. A dryer can get THAT HOT and just keep going? And the owner/operator never knows anything is wrong? Well that I'll concede. In a population, unfathomable stupidity exists.

Nevermind me, I'm just an unemployed failure analysis engineer with a fairly healthy streak of skepticism when it comes to regulatory decrees. Ya know, FAA certified a number of commercial aircraft with glaring design deficiencies that ended up killing people.

 

[countryguy]

Just a couple of months ago, a friend of a friend was working out in his garage (he has lots of power tools for wood working). He unplugged a power tool, noticed a spark and then flames from the outlet. He grabbed the garden hose, sprayed it on the outlet and the next thing he knew the flames had travelled along the entire electrical wiring. Within minutes the garage had burnt to the ground. The garage was detached otherwise the house would have burned as well. The 2 cars in the driveway did melt some from the intense heat as did the siding on the house. The firemen told him that you should never use water to put out an electrical fire.....use a fire extinguisher.

Gary