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Electrical Fire

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seansy59:
I would post it here, but it was a PITA to upload the pics, and organize it. So the link is here. You may leave comments in the thread below. This was my post (seansy59 username), but not my news story, although I took the pics myself.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/electrical-fire-121182/

joe_347V:

--- Quote ---I used to go to this old F.P Kolbe antique shop in Pennsylvannia. It was built in 1782! Really nice, right by the delaware. An electrical fire happened though. I went back, and took some pics, also explored the abandoned burnt wiring. I'm upset about this, but I always saw the rats nest of wires of this place. It was terrible. Alot was run off of small little 18 and 20 gauge wire, ungrounded, knob and tube, cloth wire, some even speaker wire. This was taken offline a while ago, so I don't know who wrote the story. But I can agree with everything here. The pics are mine, I took them.

"
The F.P. Kolbe gift shop on River Road in Point Pleasant was not badly damaged in Sunday's blaze. But behind the store's rustic clutter, it looks like a bomb went off.
An official cause has not been determined, but state police fire marshal Anthony Rhodunda said Tuesday the fire that destroyed several businesses appears to have been an electrical malfunction at the back of the Trading Post's main showroom. The place was said to be wired incorrectly and against code, along with the rest of the owner’s buildings that may cause future tragedies. The owner claims he could not afford to redo the electrical system.
While Kolbe's survived, all that remains of the Trading Post are heaps of burned rubble. Piles of terra cotta pots lie beneath more piles of charred, bloated books. Further back, the skeleton of a blacksmith's shopcontains a few recognizable tools beneath yet more piles of blackened remains.
Newtown resident Ray Mathis spent Tuesday sorting through what's left of that workshop, where he's crafted his metal works for the past 20 years. He was working there Sunday when he spotted flames at the Trading Post and alerted the owners.
Most of metal inside Mathis's shop was expanded by the heat of the fire and contracted by the water thrown in to douse the flames. What remained was, for the most part, a mangled mess. What was salvageable, the blacksmith wasn't sure how to fix, now that his machinery is gone. The owner of F.P. Kolbe, who we spoke to said, “I can’t believe it happened, the rest of my store is wired the same way, and I cannot afford to update or have the knowledge to rewire this place. It was built and wired by existing family, and passed down, it has many memories that I do not want to lose”
Fire Marshal Anthony Rhodunda states that the property is not properly wired to code, and is another fire waiting to start unexpectedly. The owner has improper wire throughout the inside and outside of his store, with improper connections and existing knob and tube cloth/paper covered wire that was banned due to fires in the early 40’s, along with existing overloaded fuse panels dating back to the 30’s. Numerous amounts of random wire from appliance cords, indoor NM-B, and cloth wire daisy chained to supply power to the outdoor buildings and lighting. “If this place isn’t rewired, he can expect to lose the rest of his store without any warning” Anthony stated.









--- End quote ---

 :o That first picture is just scary, that's one of the problems with older electrical systems though over time people tend to modify and alter stuff and some of their work it just a scary. It's a shame really this had to happen though.

PS I quoted the post for you. 

seansy59:
Yeah. There was alot of that small wiring running things like that. The one wire (1st pic) was running 4 of those fans and a light! Then taped to an old spiced cord, and plugged into another extension cord that ran to the other side of the store. Same thing with an old (preheat) shoplight and a few lamps. If I ever go back, I will take alot of pics) if it's still all there. Its a long ride though.

PS: Thanks for inserting it into the thread!  :)

Mike:
That's just scary. :o :(

joe_347V:
:o Your description sounds even scarier than what the pic shows.

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