Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 01-24-2014, 10:08 AM
 
113 posts, read 343,127 times
Reputation: 62

Advertisements

Why are there so many house fires in the Atlanta area? It seems like every time I watch the news, there is another house fire? I just don't get it. There was never that many house fires in the Tampa FL area. Are they mostly electrical fires in the attic or the walls? We are looking into buying a home this spring, but it is making me nervous. Any input??
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-24-2014, 10:16 AM
 
Location: MMU->ABE->ATL->ASH
9,317 posts, read 20,996,996 times
Reputation: 10443
Most now are from "Improper" heating, Mostly space heater that fall over, or are next to something flammable, or overload the lines.

Plus House Fire Make good video, and House Fire + Cold give a good lead into the weather reports.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 10:35 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
2,862 posts, read 3,819,610 times
Reputation: 1471
Could be the popularity and improper use of fireplaces as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 11:04 AM
 
Location: Canton
143 posts, read 242,350 times
Reputation: 170
I agree with flyonpa. All the new reports I've seen have called out space heaters as the start of the fire.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 11:53 AM
 
10,974 posts, read 10,870,273 times
Reputation: 3435
I'd be interested in see a comparison of actual rates of fires. Just because it is on the news does not mean it is more common. For example: crime rates are drastically lower from a couple decades ago but the amount of coverage they get is up.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Georgia
4,578 posts, read 5,661,878 times
Reputation: 15973
Combination of things: First and foremost, improper use of space heaters. Secondly, old and overworked electrical systems -- too many "newfangled electrical gadgets" plugged into a system that wasn't designed to handle the demand/load, and idiots who have 10 things plugged into one outlet. Third, smokers who fall asleep with a cigarette or incorrectly dispose of a cigarette butt (although that number is decreasing, it is still a factor.) Cooking fires also contribute. And then there's just weird stuff, like the guy who recently lost his house because a bag of batteries he meant to recycle ended up shorting out, overheating and catching on fire. Occasionally, we'll get a fire caused by lightening, which sparks something in the house. These are all things that happen in Florida, too -- although with the typical Florida CBS housing construction, perhaps the results aren't quite so spectacular. :-)

They make the news because it's a 'oh, dear, they lost EVERYTHING' type of story. The news leads with blood or flames.

In other words -- it's usually user error. If you're reasonably careful, no need to stress.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 01:18 PM
 
38 posts, read 48,374 times
Reputation: 16
Do the houses (especially old ones built in the 70s) have aluminium wiring ?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2014, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Limbo
6,512 posts, read 7,545,788 times
Reputation: 6319
Because of people like this:

Quote:
DORA, Alabama - Fox 6 in Birmingham is reporting about a house fire in Dora today that started when a resident of the home tried to burn toilet paper that had been put in a tree as a prank over the weekend.
Report: Dora home burns when family uses fire to remove toilet paper from tree | AL.com
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top