On Mar 21, 7:05 am, cncmillgil wrote:
How bout a surge from downed power lines? Ours got knocked down from
ice on trees falling on the main lines into the house 4am Christmas
eve. Started a fire (12" flames) on the Belkin UL approved spike/
surge protector right next to the christmas tree & plasma TV! Could
never get an answer as to why this happened. Knocked out a couple
other surge strips including a plug in CO2 detector.
Thank god thats all that happened.

A friend suffered a 33,000 volt fault to the local distribution. As
a result, hundreds of electric meters were blown from their pans. At
least 100 clear plastic meter covers in pieces 10 meters from the pan.

Many neighbors suffered damaged electronics and protectors similar
to yours. Fortunately, no fires. At least one neighbor had a
destroyed 20 amp circuit breaker.

But my friend knows someone who knows this stuff. He only had a
'whole house' protector installed. Therefore he had no damage other
than an exploded meter. Even the 'whole house' protector remained
functional.

Just another reason why informed consumers earth one 'whole house'
protector and do not made money on plug-in protectors. That Belkin
does not even claim protection in its numeric specs.

BTW, electric company was not responsible for any damage (as
expected). Many electric customers had their meter pans completely
replaced due to the explosive power in that 33,000 volt fault.