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FF's: Electrical Fire smell?
4/26/2012 11:10:20 PM
Looked at a very rural property and one of the buildings on it had caught fire since it was listed.
It smelled funky, not what I would have expected.
Got the fire report (glad there was one) and it said it was caused by an electrical overload.
What do house fires typically smell like?
Or electrical fires to be more specific? (though once the fire starts going and burning other things, I would think the smells would become similar?)
Property is in MO......
Can you tell what I'm concerned about?
4/27/2012 1:29:11 AM
fire has different smells depending on what is burning. its hard to explain what the different fires smell like. best thing i can tell you is if you are interested in buying the house is have a good inspector come out and look at it and also get a licensed electrician to look at it as well.
4/27/2012 8:45:32 AM
Originally Posted By mylt1:
fire has different smells depending on what is burning. its hard to explain what the different fires smell like.
fire has different smells depending on what is burning. its hard to explain what the different fires smell like.
One of the lines in Backdraft that made the old school firefighters laugh was when Kurt Russel climbs off the engine and mutters "Well, this is gonna taste like sh*t..."
For many years I was the only non-smoker on our shift. I got laughed at once by two smokers when we showed up for a "structure fire" and I stopped gearing up and told them it was a pot'o meat (food on the dtove). They thought I was nuts until the on duty Lieutenant walked out with his portable in one hand and a smoking pot in the other, threw the pot out into the snow and waved us off.
There are different smells indeed. Food smells different depending on what it is (hot link v. egg) and even wood can smell different depending on what type it is and how old it is. Electrical typically gets it's smell from the plastics used in the insulation.
The residual particulates from the fire are what you're smelling, and they go evverywhere. It's such a problem that most insurance companies will buy entire new window units instea of paying for hours of cleaning for each one. The usual way I've seen remodelers handle it is with a power sprayer loaded with original Kilz.
4/27/2012 6:36:25 PM
Originally Posted By mylt1:
fire has different smells depending on what is burning. its hard to explain what the different fires smell like. best thing i can tell you is if you are interested in buying the house is have a good inspector come out and look at it and also get a licensed electrician to look at it as well.
fire has different smells depending on what is burning. its hard to explain what the different fires smell like. best thing i can tell you is if you are interested in buying the house is have a good inspector come out and look at it and also get a licensed electrician to look at it as well.
this
4/27/2012 11:30:48 PM
Nothing like a snotty basement fire or a mattress fire. 
4/28/2012 8:39:02 AM
electrical fires smell a lot like plastics burning, but like posted above its really hard to explain how it smells.
a really popular and recent method of post-fire cleanup is using very large O-Zone generators that dump ozone into a house thats being rehabbed post fire, ozone will kill and neutralize any odors, especially ones that are caused by mold/mildew after a flood and smoke from a fire.
the charred members from fire affected materials have to be removed and replaced first.
but as posted above get a home inspection, and the insurance report as well. a lot of times fire investigators and insurance investigators will come up with many different opinions.
4/28/2012 11:00:52 PM
Originally Posted By El_Pharmaceutico:
Looked at a very rural property and one of the buildings on it had caught fire since it was listed.
It smelled funky, not what I would have expected.
Got the fire report (glad there was one) and it said it was caused by an electrical overload.
What do house fires typically smell like?
Or electrical fires to be more specific? (though once the fire starts going and burning other things, I would think the smells would become similar?)
Property is in MO......
Can you tell what I'm concerned about?
Looked at a very rural property and one of the buildings on it had caught fire since it was listed.
It smelled funky, not what I would have expected.
Got the fire report (glad there was one) and it said it was caused by an electrical overload.
What do house fires typically smell like?
Or electrical fires to be more specific? (though once the fire starts going and burning other things, I would think the smells would become similar?)
Property is in MO......
Can you tell what I'm concerned about?
Why is a house that is listed for sale being overloaded? Is it still occupied? If not, who is squatting?
Missouri.... methheads squatting for a lab?
4/29/2012 10:38:37 AM
The main house on the property was unoccupied.
The house that caught fire was a smaller building being rented out.
It caught fire after it was listed for sale.
The burnt one smelled like cat piss. (they do have cats) And like plastic.
Is cat piss a common smell for burnt buildings?
Windows are gone so rain and critters have easy access.
The window AC unit was on the ground outside and scorched.
Missouri and the cat piss smell had me concerned it may have been meth related.
But then they did have a fire report which states electrical overload.
Would a fire report indicate a lab if there was one on the scene?
I would think they would have not called the FPD and put it out themselves if it was meth related.
The house that caught fire was a smaller building being rented out.
It caught fire after it was listed for sale.
The burnt one smelled like cat piss. (they do have cats) And like plastic.
Is cat piss a common smell for burnt buildings?
Windows are gone so rain and critters have easy access.
The window AC unit was on the ground outside and scorched.
Missouri and the cat piss smell had me concerned it may have been meth related.
But then they did have a fire report which states electrical overload.
Would a fire report indicate a lab if there was one on the scene?
I would think they would have not called the FPD and put it out themselves if it was meth related.
4/29/2012 5:13:56 PM
Originally Posted By El_Pharmaceutico:
The main house on the property was unoccupied.
The house that caught fire was a smaller building being rented out.
It caught fire after it was listed for sale.
The burnt one smelled like cat piss. (they do have cats) And like plastic.
Is cat piss a common smell for burnt buildings?
Windows are gone so rain and critters have easy access.
The window AC unit was on the ground outside and scorched.
Missouri and the cat piss smell had me concerned it may have been meth related.
But then they did have a fire report which states electrical overload.
Would a fire report indicate a lab if there was one on the scene?
I would think they would have not called the FPD and put it out themselves if it was meth related.
The main house on the property was unoccupied.
The house that caught fire was a smaller building being rented out.
It caught fire after it was listed for sale.
The burnt one smelled like cat piss. (they do have cats) And like plastic.
Is cat piss a common smell for burnt buildings?
Windows are gone so rain and critters have easy access.
The window AC unit was on the ground outside and scorched.
Missouri and the cat piss smell had me concerned it may have been meth related.
But then they did have a fire report which states electrical overload.
Would a fire report indicate a lab if there was one on the scene?
I would think they would have not called the FPD and put it out themselves if it was meth related.
im betting there was your source for the overload. as far as the "cat piss" smell, i have never smelled that at a fire unless the owner was a cat hoarder. add the AC to whatever else was on the circuit and that was the cause. im betting there was either a faulty circuit braker or the braker was bypassed.
5/21/2012 12:30:40 AM
Plastic from insulator or ozone from arcing.
5/21/2012 1:10:59 PM
as kinda already stated...
electricity doesnt burn, its the contact of material and that material that burns....usually plastic, plastic has a distinct smell along with rubber belts and hoses...
electricity doesnt burn, its the contact of material and that material that burns....usually plastic, plastic has a distinct smell along with rubber belts and hoses...
