wrote:
HOW THE HECK COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WERE THEY USING TO THAW THE
PIPES? THIS HAS ME PUZZLED....

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http://www.kttc.com/story/24683160/2...east-rochester

Home catches fire during pipe thawing in southeast Rochester
Posted:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main
and a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so
the homeowner called a service to thaw them out.

During the thawing process, the home next door caught fire just after
5 p.m. Saturday.

The pipe was also connected to the neighbor's home, whose pipes were
not frozen.

My guess. They used a welder or something to pass current through the pipe to
thaw it. Maybe disconnected the ground connection from the pipe, and then passed
current though it to ground to warm the pipe. Ground connection from pipe to
ground rods at neighbors house overheated and started fire.