Questions tagged [fire-hazard]
Questions about suspected fire hazards: things that may be unacceptably likely to start a fire. If you feel a fire is imminent, turn off/disable the device before posting here.
144 questions
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Burned washing machine plug
My washing machine was having a smell in the last week and we noticed now it burned the plug (see pictures) can we just change the plug? What could be the reason?
Thank you
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4
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Is it dangerous if an LED lightbulb fails to light up?
My bathroom has three MR16 light fixtures in the ceiling, all with LED bulbs.
One of the fixtures sometimes fails to light up so I have to flick the switch back and forth until all of them light up.
I ...
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Should a breaker panel with mild interior browning be replaced?
I recently had an electrician change a breaker, and when he took out the old breaker he said that I should consider changing the whole panel as he found some browning behind the breaker, on the metal ...
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Unsure if licensed electrician correctly wired old Zinsco 100-amp panel to new Siemens 200-amp subpanel
Our 1,572 sq. ft., 1972-built home in San Diego has a 100-amp Zinsco panel. We just learned that Zinsco busses and circuits are a known fire hazard. We talked to 4 licensed electrical companies, had ...
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Help me understand what happened and how the machine left works
So my Internet went out last night and came back on but at 6am it was out for good. The Internet company sent a tech to check on it and he came 3hours before he was supposed to so no one was home. He ...
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Spray Foam Near Recessed Lights
I'm about to install new canless recessed lights, but before drilling into the attic, I wanted to close a gap between an old ceiling and the new strapped ceiling to prevent any mice from getting ...
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2
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Back fire brick panel loose
I have a fireplace with 3 thin fire brick panels covering the metal chimney behind them. The back panel is not secured. The 2 side panels are screwed in flush with the metal behind it. But the back ...
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How does arcing in an electrical panel cause fires? [closed]
I had a sub-panel with a loose neutral wire that caused substantial arcing between the wire and bus bar. Arcing generates a staggering amount of heat (thousands of degrees in either F or C) and in ...
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Will a toilet crack if used as a fire pit?
I am doing some last minute Halloween preparation. I would like to have a small fire going in an above-grade fire pit. Since its Halloween, I would like to get an old toilet and light my fire in that ...
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Is this a safety or fire hazard
My apartment complex recently replaced the disposal in my kitchen that was leaking from the power cord due to a cracked seal. They left the wires of the power cord that attach to the disposal exposed ...
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What can I safely burn isopropyl gel fuel in?
I would like to decant isopropyl gel fuel (i.e. Terraflame) into a safe container to burn in my fireplace.
In other words, I would like to create a fire bowl essentially in my indoor fireplace.
What ...
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1 of 4 lights damaged on a ceiling fan
My ceiling fan has 4 lights. One of them popped last night and the glass came off but the screw part was still in there. I tried to remove it but ended up damaging the fixtures screw in part (real bad)...
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Running outlets in or on a garage fire protection wall
I have been working on rebuilding the wall separating my basement and garage. I know this wall needs to have some fire protection, but I have just recently learned that research is important - it isn'...
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Is it safe to connect house wiring with duct tape?
I rent a house in LA that has been given the landlord special--after looking a the wiring to see if I would be able to install a pendant light, I was shocked to find a live wire wrapped with old, ...
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Can I use recessed downlight with GU24 base socket using adapter?
All ceiling lights in my home have GU24 base socket. I recently saw "recessed downlight" in Costco. It has E26 base type and is 9.4 watts. I googled and could not find similar light with ...
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Is it safe to use the neutral wire as a ground
I have a black white and bare wire. When I check with a volt meter black to white (neutral) I get 92 volts. Then I check black to bare (ground) I get 122. I'm wiring in a fluorescent fixture. So the ...
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Lights pulsating rhythmically
I noticed lights on multiple circuits rhythmically dimming. Not all lights, but seemingly random lights. I had no major appliances running at all. I had one small appliance running in the kitchen (a ...
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How can I hide power cords for an entertainment system behind drywall?
Location: AZ, US
I'd like to mount my TV along with various game systems to a wall and hide all or most of the wiring and power bricks. As I have clear and easy access to the other side of the wall (...
user82600
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Power strip sparked and burnt phone power cord plug
if you touch a power strip plug with a peice of silver craft wire while you have a cell phone charger plugged into the socket will it catch on fire? Because thats what happened in my daugjters room ...
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Can I burn away a rotten fence post in the ground?
One of the posts for my fence rotted away underground to where the post above ground could be simply pulled out. I fixed a ring with some lag bolts to the top of the remaining post (which is about 3 ...
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What material is used to create oven/cooker kitchen cabinets?
My concern is fires. I think the sides of ovens sometimes heat a lot, and this makes me wonder how to design a:
Cabinet inside which built-in/enclosed ovens rest. The sides, including the bottom ...
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Can I run a flexible cord between a ceiling-mounted LED light and wall outlet?
I am planning to add a ceiling-mounted light in one of the corners of a bedroom. Unfortunately, the only power source I could find is from a wall outlet. I do not want to get into the trouble of ...
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Do USB and Ethernet extension cords violate typical fire codes?
It is commonplace for firecodes to tell us not to use extension cords. But for living in a rental, sometimes there is no other way to transmit datalines between rooms securely. A reasonable person ...
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Range hood with worrisome ventilation set up in Hong Kong
I just took a new apartment in Hong Kong where I didn't notice the way the stove ventilation was set up. The landlord used a discount department store contractor who installed the Siemens range hood ...
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2
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1
answer
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Fire damper required/advised in 2 family brownstone?
TL;DR Does New York building code require fire dampers for partial renovation of four storey brownstone with two family CO?
I live in a two family New York brownstone which is undergoing a partial ...
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Ash/soot test after a fire
Pardon me if this is not a correct community to ask this question.
My town was affected by the recent Marshall wildfire in CO.
Some streets are gone, it's surreal here. Our street is saved, but there ...
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Why is my entire townhome flickering? Circuit box is replaced. Whole house has copper wiring
My whole house flickers. It is a townhome. Here are some things to cross off the list:
I just replaced the circuit box which was old and faulty. It is brand new, not refurbished.
The house is wired ...
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1
answer
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My latch allows to double lock from the outside... why, and is it safe?
I am a tenant in the UK.
I live on the first floor (2nd floor in US scheme), there is no fire exit and the flat is big enough for a couple.
The latch on my flat's door is the Ingersoll 'Classic' ...
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Can I safely swap an incandescent in a shower recessed fixture for an LED?
I have an "airlock" (I believe this implies humidity reduction) recessed ceiling light in my shower. It has a 40W A15 incandescent bulb, which is now dead.
I'm looking to swap in an LED bulb;...
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How to prevent electrical appliances from exploding
I've been reading news lately that AC or fridge explodes sometimes and causes fire and death.
What are the other household electrical appliances that explodes ? How may I prevent this ? Is there any ...
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Required safe distance from wood fireplace? [duplicate]
What is the minimum safe distance to install permanent fixtures (cabinets) next to a fireplace?
Fireplace is open on 2 sides: front and right side, facing the future fixture.
Unit is in multi family ...
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How can I clean cooking oil out of plug sockets? [closed]
I spilled a lot of uncooked oil onto the 4 power sockets plugged into my extension lead. the oil also got on the extension lead-should i unplug the sockets and stop using them. I’m really anxious it ...
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2
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Reflective bubble insulation for making stairs fire-resistant?
I recently moved into a two-story home that has a storage cupboard under the stairs. There is no finish underneath the bottom part of the stairs, and the bare plywood is exposed, which is a fire ...
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Can junction box be placed on insulation above ceiling drywall?
I am thinking of installing these lights on my ceiling. Each light comes with its own junction box that you just leave inside the ceiling. My ceiling, however, has insulation right above it. Is it ...
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Are older Federal Electric breakers a fire hazard?
I live in an apartment with a very old circuit breaker box that looks like this:
The panel's description says that it's from the Federal Electric Products Company, Catalog No. 116. According to this ...
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2
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Wiring a dusty chicken coop without risking a fire
I'm raising chickens for the first-time and building a coop for 12 birds. I have been told that the birds and their bedding can be very dusty, and I would like to make sure I don't create an ...
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black marks on romex and on insulation
not a duplicate of What are these marks on the Romex wire in the wall?, but very similar.
I noticed some black marks on both some romex, as well as the underside of the fiberglass insulation that was ...
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Framing in a home's crawlspace
Looking to take some time in the new year to frame out an area of my "crawlspace." It has about 7.5' clearance in height, so it'll be tight... but my goal is to make a workbench area for ...
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What is causing the outlets and ceilings fans in my home to burn out
I've got 4 ceiling fans not working, one of them crackled and flickered for a while then all of a sudden no power in back bedroom and small bathroom. No power to lights, ceiling fans and inside wall ...
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full size wood mantlet (5 in+) 12 inches away from the fireplace openings top? US - TX fire code
TLDR, can I have a full size wood mantlet (5 in+) 12 inches away from the fireplace openings top?
I am reading the fire codes
Exposed combustible mantels or trim may be placed directly on the
masonry ...
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2
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Is my garage safe with a 30amp breaker and some odd wiring
I recently bought a house and have found several things wrong and I'm trying to prioritize which to fix first. I have some very limited electrical knowledge but not enough to know if this needs to be ...
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covering a baseboard heater gap and fire hazard
I noticed a mouse crawl up behind a baseboard heater. I unmounted the heater and found large holes in the wall. exposing styrofoam insulation.
is it a fire hazard to cover the holes with 1/4 inch ...
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Damaged wire inside fireplace insert, New construction
Due to a previous house fire am I being to pick about exposed wire isolation due to staple?
First off, the county inspector came out on July 29, 2020 an failed the inspection with five items. One ...
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1
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How reliable AFDD switches are? (fire protection switches)
A few years ago we had wood floor professionals extending power cables underneath the floor as part of an overall floor renovation.
We only recently learned that they used screw terminals which could ...
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Fire safety with polystyrene
I would like to use foil-faced expanded polystyrene boards to insulate my window at night.* That window is located a foot or two above my electric baseboard heater.** To me it seems like this could ...
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How to put out a polystyrene fire?
I'm planning to use some polystyrene in a project. I will try to avoid all fire hazards, but in case the worst happens is there anything special I should know about how to fight polystyrene fires? ...
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Fire safety for room on interior of home
I’m looking at a house that has a room on the interior (highlighted in red below) with no window/door to the outside of the area. Knowing that this isn’t fire code compliant to be considered a bedroom,...
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Burnt wire in GE stove
I spilled some water on the knobs of my GE stove. 5 minutes later, I heard some buzzing and then there was a brief fire from a knob for 30 seconds. I turned off the gas and electricity, opened the ...
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How do I replace insulation around knob and tube wiring
My drywall ceiling developed a large crack over the last two months (after being fine for 70 years), and investigating my attic I discovered the lower layers of insulation were soggy and the drywall ...
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What happens when you accidently connect a neutral wire with a hot wire with a screw?
So i am worried about a fire hazard. My hot and neutral wire are packed together into a metal conduit. If there was a screw that accidentally gets screwed into the conduit and connects the hot and ...
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