Received from a friend who is in the property insurance business. It
is
well worth reading. This is one of those e-mails that if you didn't
send
it, rest assured someone on your list will suffer for not
reading it.
The original message was written by a lady whose brother and
his wife
learned a hard lesson this past week.

Their house burned down.. .nothing left but ashes. They have good
insurance
so the house will be replaced and most of the contents. That is
the good
news. However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the
fire.
The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours.
He
had
the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her
sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the
normal
things....curling iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, "No,
this
would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures".
Then
her sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-In, in the
bathroom.
The investigator had one of those "Aha" moments. He said that was
the
cause of the fire. He said he has seen more house fires started
with
the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said
the
plastic they are made from is THIN plastic.
He also said that in every case there was nothing left to prove that
it even
existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two
prongs
left from the plug-in were still in there. Her sister-in-law had
one of
the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she
had
noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would
walk
in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on
again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and
would
dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled
down
it would come back on. That is a warning sign . The investigator said
he
personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device
anywhere in
his house. He has seen too many places that have
been burned down due to them.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY
COULD
IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOUSE, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.




~*IN GOD WE TRUST ~*BARBARA*~


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Lyndell Thompson wrote:
Received from a friend who is in the property insurance business. It
is
well worth reading. This is one of those e-mails that if you didn't
send
it, rest assured someone on your list will suffer for not
reading it.
The original message was written by a lady whose brother and
his wife
learned a hard lesson this past week.
After sending a few unchecked urban legends to everyone on my email
list, I checked this one out he
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/glade.asp

Interesting reading for anyone who wants to check it out-- so far
Snopes has an Undetermined stand on this one.
Phil

So sorry everyone, I was checking e-mail and saw this from a friend and
thought it was real. I didn't check to see if it was a hoax. I guess no one
before him checked it either. I won't let it happen again. Thanks to all for
setting the record straight.
Lyndell


"Lyndell Thompson" wrote in message
ink.net...





Received from a friend who is in the property insurance business. It
is
well worth reading. This is one of those e-mails that if you
didn't send

Hi Lyndell, "Better Safe Than Sorry" is not an "Urban Legend" and better
red faced than red eyed. No need to apologize for caring. The dimming
light was a likely tip off, but a hoax can burn your house or shop down.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

This is most probably a hoax. The site I referenced can't find any
evidence that Glade air fresheners are a fire hazard. That doesn't
prove it is a hoax, but, before I would panic, I would expect more
evidence that an unsigned email (original) source.

That site was:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar..._freshener.htm. I
urge all to check these things out before relaying them to the world.

In my experience, every one, without exception, of the email warnings I
have received with serious, unproven concerns that urges me in BOLD
CAPITAL LETTERS to send copies to everyone I know has been found to be
a hoax.

The unfortunate part of this is that well-meaning, caring individuals
are being taken advantage of by being tricked into spreading these
unfounded warnings.

Now, lets get back to woodturning...

Bob

I agree with Arch better safe than sorry. I have never had any problems
with oily rags, but heard of a fella that left a bunched up oily rag on
the bench and left to answer the phone and found it smoldering when he
got back. I don't know if that is true, but now I use paper towels and
put them and oily towels in the fireplace. So if something happens it
is in a place were fire is supposed to be. My only tale about fire is
being woken up by the fire dept. telling everyone to leave. Seems like
someone reported glowing coming from the back yard. Turns out the pile
were I toss my wood shavings started smoldering from internal
combustion. I try and keep it damp. I will put the plug in's in along
with my paranoia about burning candles in the house. Thanks for
bringing it up.

Bruce

Lyndell Thompson wrote:
So sorry everyone, I was checking e-mail and saw this from a friend and
thought it was real. I didn't check to see if it was a hoax. I guess no one
before him checked it either. I won't let it happen again. Thanks to all for
setting the record straight.
Lyndell


"Lyndell Thompson" wrote in message
ink.net...




Received from a friend who is in the property insurance business. It
is
well worth reading. This is one of those e-mails that if you
didn't send

wrote: ,(clip) every one, without exception, of the
email warnings I have received with serious, unproven concerns that urges me
in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS to send copies to everyone I know has been found to
be a hoax. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bob, how do I know that THIS is not a hoax? BG
Lyndell, Snopes doesn't say it IS a hoax. They leave the question open.
Bruce, the story about the oily rag on the bench is likely to be untrue.
Or, if it is true, it is certainly not due to spontaneous combustion.
Possibly a cigarette or some welding or grinding sparks could have
contributed.

Spontaneous combustion occurs from slow oxidation, which can cause the
temperature of a mass of fuel (oily rags, wood chips, etc) to rise.
Increasing temperature increases the oxidation rate, causing the process to
accelerate. However, a rag lying in open air probably loses enough heat so
the ignition temperature is never reached. (And certainly not in the time
for a single phone call.)

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

wrote: ,(clip) every one, without exception, of the
email warnings I have received with serious, unproven concerns that urges
me in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS to send copies to everyone I know has been
found to be a hoax. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bob, how do I know that THIS is not a hoax? BG
Lyndell, Snopes doesn't say it IS a hoax. They leave the question open.
Bruce, the story about the oily rag on the bench is likely to be untrue.
Or, if it is true, it is certainly not due to spontaneous combustion.
Possibly a cigarette or some welding or grinding sparks could have
contributed.

Spontaneous combustion occurs from slow oxidation, which can cause the
temperature of a mass of fuel (oily rags, wood chips, etc) to rise.
Increasing temperature increases the oxidation rate, causing the process
to accelerate. However, a rag lying in open air probably loses enough
heat so the ignition temperature is never reached. (And certainly not in
the time for a single phone call.)

Leo,
I have read and learned from many of your posts but I think you are on the
edge with this one. A spread out rag is unlikely to start a fire but there
are too many variables and too many documented cases of oily rags starting
fire to take any chances at all with them.
billh

"billh" wrote: (clip) too many variables and too many documented cases of
oily rags starting fire to take any chances at all with them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bill, I certainly agree that it would not be wise to take chances by
allowing oily rags to lie around unattended. However, what I wrote was a
comment on a particular *alleged* incident. I am a mechanical engineer with
some background in heat transmission and combustion, both of which relate
to an understanding of spontaneous combustion. My training tells me that an
oily rag on a bench for a brief period will not have time, nor the right
conditions to heat up. If this were not the case, rags would start
smouldering while the person is IN the shop, even if the phone didn't
distract him/her. It would be such a common experience that most of us
would have witnessed it, and oily rags would be considered dangerous.

Still, what I wrote was full of weasel words like "likely to be untrue," and
"probably." I wouldn't want anyone to consider what I said as encouragement
to pile up oily rags. What you said is much safer than what I said.

I like that - "weasel words" - seems to convey the thought with all the
right connotations. My corporate days are well behind me; maybe that's how
I've missed that before.

TomNie

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
news

"billh" wrote: (clip) too many variables and too many documented cases of
oily rags starting fire to take any chances at all with them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bill, I certainly agree that it would not be wise to take chances by
allowing oily rags to lie around unattended. However, what I wrote was a
comment on a particular *alleged* incident. I am a mechanical engineer
with some background in heat transmission and combustion, both of which
relate to an understanding of spontaneous combustion. My training tells
me that an oily rag on a bench for a brief period will not have time, nor
the right conditions to heat up. If this were not the case, rags would
start smouldering while the person is IN the shop, even if the phone
didn't distract him/her. It would be such a common experience that most
of us would have witnessed it, and oily rags would be considered
dangerous.

Still, what I wrote was full of weasel words like "likely to be untrue,"
and "probably." I wouldn't want anyone to consider what I said as
encouragement to pile up oily rags. What you said is much safer than what
I said.