| NRGCA News |
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Fire blamed on heat tape in pipe
02/08/2010 |
Feb. 6--Heat tape was the culprit in a fire on Jan. 30 that sent some bushes up in flames but only singed the house in the 24000 block of East Tum Tum Drive in Liberty Lake.
The home had rain gutters that drained into a PVC pipe to direct water away from the home's foundation and the homeowner had put heat tape inside the pipe to keep it from freezing, said Spokane Valley Fire assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford. Some excess tape was bundled up at the end of the pipe and eventually the pipe and some nearby wood caught on fire, which in turn caught the bushes on fire. "It was detected soon enough that the damage wasn't extensive," Clifford said.
Every year malfunctioning heat tape causes fires. While it keeps pipes from freezing, homeowners also have to take precautions.
"If people have heat tape on their homes, it should really be inspected at least once a year for deterioration," Clifford said
By Nina Culver, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. |
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