Arcing and fires - case studies

Abstract

Broken extension cords, faulty switches, outlets and frayed wires are often cited as causes for fires. Many structure fires in the US are caused by arc faults of various types. In a fire investigation, the fire initiation source of energy and the initial propagating medium needs to be identified/understood in order to determine the root cause of the incident. This paper presents case studies describing arcing faults and the sequence of events that propagated into a fire.