Heating homes and pipes blamed for fires

From staff reports

Fire departments in the area are warning residents to take caution when heating their homes in the frigid temperatures.

The Spokane Fire Department has responded to four fires in the last three days, according to the department’s spokesperson, Justin de Ruyter.

One fire was determined to be caused from overuse of a fireplace, another was caused from electrical wiring issues, the third fire was caused from improper disposal of fireplace ashes and a Monday morning fire was caused from a heating system malfunction.

In single-digit temperatures, firefighters struggle with the freezing of the water used to extinguish the flames. They have to take breaks often to reheat, according to a news release from the city’s department, and can suffer from slippery surfaces, equipment malfunctions and possibly frostbite.

De Ruyter also recommends when trying to warm frozen pipes to never use an open flame – typically the pipe is surrounded by a wall or under the floor and a smoldering piece of ash drops and sits there until “all of a sudden there’s a fire.”

While temperatures rise, pipes defrost, which can cause them to break and leak. The department has received 10 to 15 alarm calls this week that were all “waterflow related,” de Ruyter said.

“People need to be paying attention to water flow and leaks, too. Any minute it can happen,” he said.

On Monday evening, the Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to a fire suspected to have been caused by residents using a propane tank with a torch to warm their frozen pipes, according to Spokane Valley Fire Department Deputy Chief of Prevention Brett Anderson.

Anderson said people don’t always know that metal pipes conduct heat very well. If someone is using an open flame to heat a pipe with insulation 2 feet away, the heat will transfer down the pipe and to the insulation, causing a fire. Once a fire gets past drywall, it spreads quickly, he said – so if someone is working under a house, there is nothing there to protect them if heating their pipe goes haywire.