Get FREE Instant Access
To your online Video Fighting Course.
Click Here For FREE Instant Access.

Mysterious Fire Hazards Lurking in the Home

                                                                         by Dennis Curley

Hundreds of homes catch on fire every day in America.

That’s according to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). If you check out the fire statistics on their website, nfpa.org, you’ll be shocked by how many lives are lost and how much property is destroyed by structure fires.

What caused these fires in the first place?

No doubt you are aware of some of the more common causes – such as smoking in bed, burning candles left unattended, kids playing with matches and lighters, etc.

Other reasons houses catch on fire are not so common, but these causes are so flagrantly obvious you have to wonder, “What were these people thinking?”

For example, two guys lighting firecrackers in a tiny trailer home. Or a couple barbequing chicken on a charcoal grill in their bedroom. Or a juggler practicing his flaming torch act in his living room.

Sad but all true — these were grown adults and these were actual incidents my crew responded to. Amazingly, these people all survived, though the juggler had some fairly bad burns. All we can do now is pray these folks have at least learned to heed the often-heard advice: “Don’t try this at home”.

But many of the reasons that fires start in people’s homes are not so glaringly obvious. As a firefighter, I’ve fought house fires that ignited from hazards most people are simply not aware of. Even our fire investigators were surprised when they figured out the seemingly bizarre causes of some of these fires.

The thing is — these “bizarre” fire hazards are all over our homes, lurking where you’d least expect them. These dangers might surprise you, but once you are aware of them, you’ll see that they are pretty easy to fix.

Let’s go over a couple of the main culprits:

Non-dairy Coffee Creamer:

The non-dairy coffee creamer that comes in powdered form is shockingly flammable.

I first learned about this hazard after responding to an unusual kitchen fire with my engine company. In the kitchen we found a hysterical, bald-headed woman and some smoldering scrambled eggs. Other than the loss of her hair, the woman had relatively few burns. There was no fire left to put out; but the smoke lingering in the kitchen smelled like a nasty mix of burnt hair, rotten eggs, and roasted marshmallows.

The woman managed to explain between sobs that her formerly long blonde hair had completely burst into flames in a split second. She told us that as she was cooking eggs, she was reaching for the pepper on the shelf above the stove when she accidentally knocked coffee creamer off the shelf. As the coffee creamer spilled, her hair ignited instantaneously.

Our fire investigator broke it down like this: As the cloud of coffee creamer powder spread through the air, some of it collected in the woman’s hair and some of it rained down onto the flames of the gas burner. The tiny granules that hit the burner burst into flames, creating a chain-reaction fireball that instantly ripped through the poor woman’s hair and then quickly went out as soon as the fuel source was spent.

This is why coffee creamer in powdered form is a dangerous triple threat:

First of all, it’s incredibly flammable because it’s mostly made from powdered corn syrup. Much like gasoline or ethanol, corn syrup is carbon-based, so it burns like crazy when it hits a heat source.

Secondly, the fact that it’s powdered creates a double-whammy of flammability. The tiny particles of flammable powder present a lot of combustible surface area, so when they are airborne they have incredible explosive potential.

Third, not many people know about this fire hazard, so they’ll naturally put their coffee creamer where it seems most handy — in the kitchen near the stove where they prepare their food and brew their coffee.

Fortunately, the solution to this threat is not all that complicated. You simply need to be aware to keep powdered coffee creamer away from your stovetop and other heat sources. You could also just switch to coffee creamer that comes in liquid form, or, as one of the firefighters at this incident said, “I’m just gonna drink my coffee black from now on.”

9-volt batteries:

Most firefighters will tell you that fires that start from 9-volt batteries are much more common than fire investigation reports show. That’s because evidence about the specific ignition source of the fire is often completely burned-up and destroyed.

However, it’s not so difficult to pinpoint where in a house a fire started. And if we find the fire started in a “junk drawer”, we know there’s a good chance that a 9-volt battery played a part.

A lot of people have all kinds of batteries rolling around in their junk drawers along with loose change, paper clips, scissors, brillo pads, matches, wire, appliance manuals, etc. What you need to know is that 9-volt batteries, those rectangular batteries with two metal contacts sticking out on top, can easily spark and set off a fire when those contacts touch metal.

What happens goes something like this: Someone opens their junk drawer, rummaging around for, say, duct tape. They find the tape, shut the drawer, and go about their business. In the process, a bunch of stuff gets shifted around, and, unbeknownst to them, a steel wool brillo pad comes into contact with the metal posts of the 9-volt battery.

Sparks fly — literally. Those sparks land on some old hardware store receipts and a book of matches in the drawer. The matches all ignite and the flames spread to the old receipts, appliance manuals, tissue paper, and anything else remotely flammable in that drawer.

Once the fire establishes itself, it does what fires do when there’s fuel, oxygen, and heat — it grows exponentially and quickly. Every 30 seconds, that fire will double in size – from 2 times as big, to 4 times as big, to 16 times as big, to 256 times as big, to 65,536 times as big… I think you get the picture.

In as little as three minutes, everything in that kitchen could be engulfed in flames — while the guy with the duct tape is still putzing around cluelessly in his garage.

I’ve also seen how these batteries can start fires when they are thrown in the trash along with metal screw-tops or other metallic garbage.

Once again, this is a fire hazard that has a straightforward solution — simply store 9-volt batteries separately in their original packaging and be careful when disposing of them.

Nine-volt batteries and powdered coffee creamer aren’t the most common causes of house fires in America, but they are threats that most people don’t know about — and they are threats that are easy to eliminate. That’s why I think it’s important to share this info with you.

I admit, I don’t give out this information to just anyone. After running across enough people like the guys lighting off firecrackers in their trailer home, I realize there are knuckleheads out there who will try to wire together some kind of crazy flamethrower using a 9-volt battery and a jar of Coffee mate. Then, God forbid, they’ll post it on YouTube, or worse yet, test their homemade flamethrower in their garage — forgetting about that gasoline can right next to them.

But I’m honored to share this knowledge with you. As readers of this blog, I realize you are not among the type of people who I’d have to tell: “Don’t try this at home”. But maybe think twice about how you share this information with your crazy teenage nephew, etc.

In my next blog post, I’ll be talking about other dangerous and little-known household fire hazards – some common and some not so common.

In the meantime, take time to do some recon in your home for fire hazards. As we’ve seen, even common household items such as 9-volts batteries and powdered coffee creamer can be threats to the safety of your family and your property. Fortunately, with a little know-how, those threats can be easily eliminated.



Twitter
Google+
Facebook

Leave A Reply:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

85 thoughts on “Mysterious Fire Hazards Lurking in the Home”

  3. Thank you very much for the very valuable information the coffee creamer fire hazard just blew me away and even though we don’t generally use powdered creamer we always have some in the cabinets right next to the stove for back up well it use to be in the cabinet next to the stove but I’m flushing that stuff down the toilet. I was however aware of the battery issue but probably still have some batteries in unsafe places that I will also put in a leadership place. Thank you again for this invaluable info.

    Reply

  6. You opened my eyes! Thanks! Maybe Firefighters should hand out pamphlets entitled “Did you know?”

    (Military veteran and retired police officer.)

    Reply

  7. It makes sense I’ve been around flower mills saw mills 🔥 hazard never thought of my coffee mate. And guess we’re it’s at? Right next w the stove. Thank you for the update I’ll text the wife to move it.

    Reply

  8. Great Info, I worked for 12 years in fire and safety at a major university maintaining sprinklers and fire extinguishers and never gave it a thought about the coffee creamer, although it mskes sense I knew about the 9 volt battery.

    Reply

  9. There really isn’t much of an excuse for not realizing the explosive potential of coffee creamer. The Mythbusters made it a national spectacle years ago.

    Reply

  11. Wow! Who knew? This was one of the most interesting articles I’ve read in some time. I immediately went looking for 9V batteries stashed around the house. Coffee creamer? Holy Cow! I’m glad we have none in the house. Sounds as volatile as a grain dust explosion. Never would have given it a thought. Thanks for the info, and interesting writing skill. I’ll forward this to my friends and family.

    Reply

    1. Hi Daryl. You’re right. It’s a lot like a grain dust explosion — lots of combustible surface area. As for 9 volts, the ironic thing is many people have them lying around in random places so they can replace the old batteries in their smoke detectors — so in their effort to create more fire safety, they actually create a fire hazard.

      Reply

  16. I keep fire extinguishers throughout the house. And in the car, especially in the kitchen and garage. When I was in the Navy I was a fire fighter (OBA) we used an oxygen breathing aperatis. I was in 2 oil fires. That is one of the reasons for the extinguishers, the other, to get out alive. Very good article. Do not forget about piled rags especially with oil on them, they can self combust do to heat build up.

    Reply

  18. How about paper plates left on top of a gasthat stove that has a pilot light? I had this one in a California bar when I was not on duty.

    Reply

  21. Hi and thanks for sharing these tips. I find it to be an outrage, how in an age where a child can be killed by a dropside crip and the cribs get recalled and outlawed, we still have devices being manufactured that use a product (9 volt top post batteries) that causes fires resulting in countless deaths and damages in the 100’s of millions of dollars, and yet they still exist and no real attention is even paid to these facts. Perhaps, given your personal first hand knowledge and experiences, you should rally the troops together and take the next logical step towards getting a ban on these hazardous life threatening batteries.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Dave. The least the manufacturers could do would be to post a simple warning on the packaging and on the batteries themselves.

      Reply

  22. You’re absolutely right about the knuckleheads! I can see it now on Redneck Fails or, God help us all, the Darwin Awards!

    Reply

  23. As a musician using a cordless Mike I used to keep an extra 9 volt in my pocket in case the other one I was using lost power. I was on stage one night when I felt extremely hot in my nether region only to find I also had change in that pocket which had caused the short circuit. Nearly burnt my nuts off LOL!! Never did that trick again!! Look forward to your next blog!!

    Reply

  24. That was a very good article! Hey! I work as a welder, and I’m well trained how to prevent or deal with fires, but never did cross my mind that coffee creamer can be a fire hazard, as actually ANY other powder, be it flour, sugar or corn meal. I don’t use coffee creamer, but until now, I used to keep flour and corn meal above the stove. Not anymore! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply

  29. I was familiar with the hazards of 9 volt batteries contacts making contact with metal ,coins ,brillo pads etc. I was not aware of the powdered coffee creamer and heat sources being dangerous. Thanks for the onfo.

    Reply

  30. This was amazing to hear. When you described the batteries in the drawer, it sounded exactly like my junk drawer.
    And that poor woman, what a shame. This is so helpful and I will be mailing it to my family and friends. Thanks so much for alerting us.

    Reply

  33. Great info my brother! I am a fireman as well but they don’t teach this in state training! I’ll be watching for more posts! This Tennessee firefighter appreciates it! Keep’em coming!

    Reply

  34. Wow! Great information. I knew about the batteries but not the coffee creamer. I use it in my coffee everyday and never gave it a second thought about the dangers. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  37. Thank you, Thank you Dennis Curley. I am just now at my basement apartment bedroom desk that is just chuck full of all kinds of the very things you mentioned in this article…As soon as you discribed that junk draw, my eyebrows went up to my hairline. I looked down at that middle file draw and slowly pulled it open and almost exactly like that old seen from Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho’s shower slashing seen, I pulled out an old sock. a half a bag of old cookies in one of those aluminum/plastic crumpled up bags [along with a hole load of other crap.] ,,,and lying on the bottom of that draw is one of those plastic multi battery organizers with around 20 live aa, aaa and as you nailed it, two nine volter’s staring me right in my eyes.
    Dennis,, I could actually hear those screeching violin strings shrieking in my minds ears ,,, rreeaakkkkkk rrreeaakkkk, rrreeeaakkk!!!! O K, so that was an “Ohh SHIT” moment and again Dennis,,,,,Thank you for that heads up. Keep those life saving tips coming… Kevin M.

    Reply

  38. Thank you for this helpful information. I was somewhat aware of the risks surrounding 9 volt batteries, but your commentary here has given me a more keen awareness of this risk. I was totally unaware of the risk surrounding powdered coffee creamer. I hope that lady’s hare grew back!

    Reply

  41. I would have never dreamed of this happening.Thank you for this very important information,I will share this with my family.I am sure you have saved some lives from this. Thank you so very much !!!

    Reply

  42. I thought i was very conscious of fire hazards but never considered coffee creamer as a hazard. Thanks for the advice it will certainly make a difference to a lot of people. You will never know the lives you have saved with the 9v battery advice and coffee creamer. Brilliant stuff. Thankyou

    Reply

  43. I knew about the coffee creamer from reading about Silo explosions and such. Prison inmate have done the same with Tylenol. Didn’t think about the batteries though.

    Reply

  46. I’ve been a firefighter since 1989, and it is still amazing during the year end Holliday Season how many idiots will attempt to fry their frozen turkeys in a propane deep frier full of boiling oil on wooden decks , porches, in the kitchen of their house. Frozen turkey hitting a over filled pot of boiling oil spells disaster when a frozen turkey hits oil, it causes an explosive rush of over flowing super hot oil as the turkey gets dropped in , you guessed it folks , a floor fire. And not to forget us poor firefighters that do not get to eat a nicely prepared lunch with all the fixens until the pager quits going off sometime after dark thirty. Use your heads people, we like hot turkey in a plate. Thanks for litting me ramble on. AR FF530.

    Reply

    1. Hi James. Excellent point about those deep fryers on wooden decks! If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk about that hazard in a future blog post. Thanks!

      Reply

  47. Please address the widely spread hazard of keeping coffee makers plugged in, thinking that by turning off the power switch, they have cut off the current flow. Since most coffee makers do not have a fuse, like stoves or heavier appliances do have, current is still flowing on the cable between the power switch and the plug still connected to the power outlet. Bottom line: when your coffee is done, UNPLUG THE COFFEE MAKER! don’t just turn off the switch.

    Reply

  48. Awhile back somebody had mentioned about the corn syrup/coffee creamer sitrep and I had other things going on and it slipped to the archives .. thanks for bring that out.! I’m not a powdered cofffee cream user, I do know of those that do, so I’ll pass that on to them…

    Reply

  50. I knew 9 volt bateries could start a fire but not how. I had no idea about the coffee creamer. Flour is also highly combustible.

    Reply