Home destroyed by electrical fire (caused by malfunction in a tankless electric water heater)

[Andy]

Home destroyed by electrical fire

A malfunction in a tankless electric water heater caused a fire Thursday that destroyed a Niu Valley home, firefighters have determined.

Honolulu Fire Department inspectors found the origin of the blaze in a crawl space under the home at 440 Puamamane St., according to Capt. Earle Kealoha.

Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the wooden building and $50,000 to contents.

Kamehameha Schools trustee Nainoa Thompson and his wife, Kathy Muneno, lived in the house but were not home at the time.

[Robert Allison]

From:

Water Heater Fires

According to the Consumers Product Safety Commission, fires involving gas water heaters result in 316 injuries and 17 deaths per year. A gas water heater can be located in a garage or utility room where it draws in combustion air near ground level. If a hydrocarbon such as gasoline is spilled in the vicinity of the water heater, a fire is extremely likely. _________________

That is why I like my tankless mounted way up on the wall at about eye level. Not to mention outside the house entirely.

[ransley]

There was a video on utube years ago on a tank where the thermostat went bad and the saftey relief failed, the tank went through the ceiling

[hallerb]

theres a million ways to get dead,

easiet way is get in any vehicle, yet most of us do it daily..........

[Bob]

The article did not go into detail as to whether the fire was the result of a manufacturing defect, improper installation, or improper usage. Many a house has burned to the ground from a frayed appliance cord. Electricity is perfectly safe when properly used.

[S. Barker]

Not likely, if even possible.

s

There was a video on utube years ago on a tank where the thermostat went bad and the saftey relief failed, the tank went through the ceiling

[hallerb]

must of been intential, why else would one record ones hot water tank?

[Oren]

Mythbuster did intentially remove safety devices from a WH - T-stat/shut off switch and T&P valve.

[Oren]

The other one shows a building they built....

[Oren]

Who puts a pretty tankless heater in a crawl space? Get a little more surf time in :)

[Blattus Slafaly]

Shit happens.

[Oren]

Well! You've got that figured out.

[Tom Horne]

S. Barker wrote: > Not likely, if even possible. >

Unfortunately there is no vaccine for stupid.

Back in the mid eighties a school board plumber was trying to get a regular water heater to produce water hot enough to meet the specs for the cafeteria's new dish washer. He forced the heat setting past it's limit stop and when the Temperature Pressure Relief (TPR) Valve began venting he started over by replacing it with a pipe plug. When live steam began coming out of the kitchen taps one of the cooks began shouting for everyone to leave. He was a navy veteran and had a healthy respect for the power of live steam. His warning was too late. Too teachers and several students were killed in the resulting Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion or B.L.E.V.E. It blew the concrete block wall that divided the kitchen from the cafeteria in onto the teachers and students. The response effort was written up in Fire Command Magazine. If I remember correctly the incident occurred in Ohio some place.

There was a similar incident in the mid nineties involving a restaurant in Florida I think. In that case the water heater did go through the roof of the strip center were the restaurant was located. I don't remember if that BLEVE caused any deaths. I think that one was written up in Fire Engineering.