Bug "Bombs"

[fireman4949]

A while back, I had an interesting fire.

The interesting part was actually the cause. The homeowner had set off 3 bug bombs in their kitchen, all of them placed on the floor, then left the house to let the insecticide do its thing.

A short time later, a neighbor saw smoke coming from the attic vents and called 911.

When we arrived, I forced entry and found the fire in the kitchen. As we were overhauling, I saw a partially burned, empty insect fogger box on the kitchen table. We subsequently we found 3 spent fogger cans on the kitchen floor.

The ignition source was the refrigerator. It had drawn the vapor into the bottom where the compressor and wiring was located. Apparently an electrical arc was all that was needed to ignite the vapor.
The refrigerator burned from the bottom up, and extended to the rest of the kitchen. The fridge sustained the most damage (from the inside, out) and we stopped the fire before it went beyond the kitchen.

I remember some time ago, "Myth Busters" did a segment on this, but I honestly can't remember what their final determination was, but I know what our final determination was...




Kevin

[rescue84]

email mythbusters.

[Firefighter2230]

We ran into the same kind of thing a few weeks ago.
The owner of the home was older in age and not in the best mental health and had put a bug bomb onto the stove or had thrown something onto the stove which had fallen down into a trash can and caused it to go off. We later found the bug bomb can laying blown up in a nearby living room and looked like it had traveled a good 6-7ft.

And some of the older members wondered why going in without the airpacks was bad

[djgilbert32]

if you read the instructions on the bug bombs it says to extinguish any open flames when setting them off. So it's not hard to believe.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

They proved that if the ignition source is big enough and there is enough fuel from the bombs that it is possible for an explosion. I just saw this episode not long ago on TV.

[mcaldwell]

Yup, and there have been a lot of accounts of bug bomb fires explosions here in the forums too. A search will probably find several threads.

[AdamNichols]

about four years ago we have an explosion from an apartment building. one of the tenants set off a bug bomb and left. eventually it met the perfect air ratio and blew causing alot of damage...little fire..
i know here in jersey, you are suppose to secure a permit prior to use for any automatic fumigation device from the fire official . it rarely happens, and is difficult to enforce at that

[Dave1983]

I recall that episode. They had to run the test several times. They started with like 1-2 bombs per room, like most people would use. It wasnt till they put like a dozen in each room that they were able to get an explosion.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

I recall that episode. They had to run the test several times. They started with like 1-2 bombs per room, like most people would use. It wasnt till they put like a dozen in each room that they were able to get an explosion.

They also had to up the ignition source. If I'm not mistaken didn't they have multiple sources in multiple rooms?

[GhostRider73]

Not sure if they still use it, but I was once told by someone in the pest business that propane was used as the propellant for these.
Gr

[doughesson]

I remember some time ago, "Myth Busters" did a segment on this, but I honestly can't remember what their final determination was, but I know what our final determination was...
Kevin

That episode just re-ran last week.
They tried several ignition sources like open flame,malfunctioning electrical outlet and a stove pilot light.
They had to seal off half of the house to get 1,000 square feet if I remember the size right and set off more per room than the label recommends.The open flame was the one that set it all off.
The explosion blew a sliding door off its track but didn't involve the whole house beyond easily ignited materials left behind.
Their determination was"Plausible".

[DonSmithnotTMD]

I wouldn't doubt it. They're specifically mentioned in our fire prevention class.

[doughesson]

i know here in jersey, you are suppose to secure a permit prior to use for any automatic fumigation device from the fire official . it rarely happens, and is difficult to enforce at that

I guess the penalty can include loss of your dwelling?

[Bones42]

i know here in jersey, you are suppose to secure a permit prior to use for any automatic fumigation device from the fire official

Never heard anything like that before. I know it's not in any of our codes.

Had a house, across the stree from where i work, that put on under their gas oven. Boom. New oven.

[37truck]

A friend of mine who is a truck lieutenant in the Washington Hts section of New York ran into this last year. The problem was they ended up inhaling some of the product after the fire was out and ended up sick. The moral is keep your mask on when overhauling until the place is well vented