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SANTA ROSA

Santa Rosa house destroyed after cardboard boxes ignite


By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 4:57 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 5:38 a.m.

Cardboard boxes stacked atop a heating register sparked a fire that destroyed a house in Santa Rosa's Burbank Gardens neighborhood Saturday morning.

Fire officials said the family was in the process of moving from the Charles Street house near Brown Street and had been staying with family members, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Mark Basque said.

But some of their belongings remained inside, including cartons that were on top of the floor register when the furnace kicked on overnight, Basque said.

The flames, discovered at 7:25 a.m., gutted the single-story wood frame house, which was engulfed when firefighters arrived three minutes later, Basque said.

Basque said the incident serves as a reminder of the need to check thermostat settings.

"In the last couple nights, it's finally gotten cold enough where furnaces will kick on by themselves after being off all year long," Basque said.

He said residents should evaluate the safety of heating units, ensure combustibles are at least 36 inches away from heat-generating devices and make sure smoke detectors are installed and working.

Basque estimated damage to the Charles Street house at $150,000 for the structure and $5,000 for contents.


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  1. dane says...
    October 12, 2008 1:52:22 pm

    RE: Link

    Wow, hot air from the furnace was enough to ignite cardboard. I wonder if anyone knows the autoignition temperature of cardboard. Seems like it would be higher than paper, which Wikipedia claims is 842°F (gee, Bradbury was wrong?)

    I wonder if there is more data from the fire dept about how this happened.

    -DJ

  2. mljjs88 says...
    October 12, 2008 5:07:03 pm

    More than likely it was a floor furnace that radiates heat, not a forced air furnace. Hot air from a forced air furnace is closer to the 125 degree range. However, if you place boxes on a floor furnace and then turn it on, now you've got a problem.

  3. e988o says...
    October 12, 2008 8:05:57 pm

    Yep. Stuff happens. I was painting a house once and left the canvas drop cloth covering the floor. Furnace kicked on over night. Next day, the area of drop cloth covering the heat outlet was burned and hardwood floor around it was blackened. This was just a floor furnace - no blower. These things get hot.

    Only luck prevented any more damage. Whew!

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