Surely air-fryers should be made of non-combustible material or placed in a non-combustible enclosure.
Did this house fire REALLY start because of a turned off Air fryer OR faulty wiring?
- Thread starter reoreborn85
- Start date
The aren't combustible, it's the contents which catches fire, the grease from not cleaning them.
Indeed - and, as I wrote, 'electrical cause' seems to be at, or very close to, the top of that list.
That would be all very well if words such as "most likely" were to exist in their assertions about 'cause' - but that is often not the case. However, as I also wrote, that is probably partially 'our' fault for expecting/demanding a 'definite answer' every time!
Mind you, fires do not have a monopoly on this 'problem'. Over the years, I've quite often had a conversation with clinicians and pathologists, and a few coroners, about 'Cause of Death'. Neither a Registrar nor a coroner will accept a Death Certificate in which the Cause of Death 'certified' by an attending clinician or a pathologist (after autopsy) is qualified by "probably", "most likely" or something like that (even though that is not uncommonly the actual 'truth') yet it is very rare (and can only be done by a Coroner) for a Death Certificate to be issued which does not have an explicit (seemingly 'definite') Cause of Death.
Had a badly designed ‘Tower’ brand air fryer , went bang , before binning it I checked inside and found the live wire to heater element was not secured and was just touching the top of the fan spindle , eventually wearing away the sheathing until it made contact .
Surely, the fire brigade can tell if the socket switch was on or off? The room doesn't look "too" bad.
With regards to their "assessments". A few years ago a mate's decking caught fire. It blew out the windows at the back of the house and even melted the guttering at the top of the house. There was a lot of cardboard and polystyrene on the decking because the was having his kitchen fitted at the time. His missus works for the fire brigade (locally). My mate suspects that they didn't blame it on the kitchen fitter (who smokes) because they knew that it would complicate the insurance claim. Instead they said it was probably the summer sunlight being focused through a glass object somewhere nearby. Once the insurance company received the cause of fire report, they actioned the repair work. From my point of view, I got to repaint the same room again and put in non-mates rates the second time.
With regards to their "assessments". A few years ago a mate's decking caught fire. It blew out the windows at the back of the house and even melted the guttering at the top of the house. There was a lot of cardboard and polystyrene on the decking because the was having his kitchen fitted at the time. His missus works for the fire brigade (locally). My mate suspects that they didn't blame it on the kitchen fitter (who smokes) because they knew that it would complicate the insurance claim. Instead they said it was probably the summer sunlight being focused through a glass object somewhere nearby. Once the insurance company received the cause of fire report, they actioned the repair work. From my point of view, I got to repaint the same room again and put in non-mates rates the second time.
I suppose the short answer is "essentially yes" although, in practice, but it i "not really like that", not the least because they will often/usually 'not get a chance' to reject it.
• If an attending doctor feels able to 'certify' an explicit (and 'acceptable') Cause of Death, then the Registrar will virtually always accept it and record the death, and issue a Death Certificate, accordingly. That is by far the most common situation. A coroner is not involved in that process at all (unless, I suppose, someone 'complains' by themselves involving a coroner).
• If there is no appropriate doctor, or if no attending doctor feels able to provide an explicit (and 'acceptable') Cause of Death, the case will be referred to the local coroner. The coroner will then arrange for an autopsy to be performed and will then (after seeing autopsy report) themselves report the Cause of Death to the Registrar (who will then record the death and issue a Death Certificate accordingly). If, as nearly always is the case (although perhaps it shouldn't be, per my previous comments!), the pathologist provides an explicit (and 'acceptable') Cause of Death, the coroner will nearly always accept it. If not, it is for the coroner to make the ultimate decision, which may require an Inquest to be held, and that decision might, sometimes, amount to 'rejecting' the pathologist's conclusion.
• If an attending doctor provides a Cause of Death which is 'unacceptable' (or of doubtful credibility), the Registrar will report the death to the coroner, who will then proceed as in the previous paragraph. It is therefore really the Registrar who will be the primary person doing the 'rejecting', although they will almost always make the same decision as a coroner would have made.
• There are rules (sometimes 'local' ones) regarding deaths which must be at least 'discussed' with the coroner (in practice, a "Coroner's Officer", usually a specialised police officer) - e.g. those occurring within the first 24 (sometimes 48) hours after admission to hospital. These discussions may lead to the coroner 'taking over the case' (as in second bullet point above) but, if the situation is straightforward, permission will often be given for the attending doctor to certify' the Cause of Death - e.g. if someone dies within minutes or hours of being admitted to hospital with a 'proven' heart attack or stroke.
• There are also cases where deaths have to be dealt with entirely by a coroner, usually requiring an Inquest - e.g. traumatic deaths, 'suspicious' deaths (e.g. possibly due to homicide, criminal negligence/neglect etc.) or when 'occupational factors' may have contributed to the death.
• If there is no appropriate doctor, or if no attending doctor feels able to provide an explicit (and 'acceptable') Cause of Death, the case will be referred to the local coroner. The coroner will then arrange for an autopsy to be performed and will then (after seeing autopsy report) themselves report the Cause of Death to the Registrar (who will then record the death and issue a Death Certificate accordingly). If, as nearly always is the case (although perhaps it shouldn't be, per my previous comments!), the pathologist provides an explicit (and 'acceptable') Cause of Death, the coroner will nearly always accept it. If not, it is for the coroner to make the ultimate decision, which may require an Inquest to be held, and that decision might, sometimes, amount to 'rejecting' the pathologist's conclusion.
• If an attending doctor provides a Cause of Death which is 'unacceptable' (or of doubtful credibility), the Registrar will report the death to the coroner, who will then proceed as in the previous paragraph. It is therefore really the Registrar who will be the primary person doing the 'rejecting', although they will almost always make the same decision as a coroner would have made.
• There are rules (sometimes 'local' ones) regarding deaths which must be at least 'discussed' with the coroner (in practice, a "Coroner's Officer", usually a specialised police officer) - e.g. those occurring within the first 24 (sometimes 48) hours after admission to hospital. These discussions may lead to the coroner 'taking over the case' (as in second bullet point above) but, if the situation is straightforward, permission will often be given for the attending doctor to certify' the Cause of Death - e.g. if someone dies within minutes or hours of being admitted to hospital with a 'proven' heart attack or stroke.
• There are also cases where deaths have to be dealt with entirely by a coroner, usually requiring an Inquest - e.g. traumatic deaths, 'suspicious' deaths (e.g. possibly due to homicide, criminal negligence/neglect etc.) or when 'occupational factors' may have contributed to the death.
Yes, another example of the 'power' that fire brigades seem to have with apparent assertions about the cause of a fire which are anything but certain or evidence-based (and, in the case you mention, absolutely 'unprovable').
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