Computer related fires ...

We ALL have our morning coffee too close to the keyboard. We ALL fail to backup our files reguarly. We ALL fail to test that our backed-up files are actually recoverable.

We all have heard of information overload but the more frequently encountered problem will be outlet overload as too many items feed off one power source.

Aside from overheaded components its often a spark from some item that can create problems. Cheap components, fuses improperly positioned. The unknowing use of "mama-san" boards wherein an entire village assembles circuit boards and quality is highly variable. It only takes one weak link.

Dust accumulates blocking air flow and inhibiting the circulation created by cooling fans, papers fall off desks and lodge themselves near electrical equipment, ... it happens.

Most home fire fighting equipment is inadequate and most homes do not have CO2 extinguishers which is what one would want for an electrical fire.

Its a perfect problem for a mathematician: how many factors are involved, what confounding factors are there, what are the consequences if the fire starts when nobody is near enough to the computer to even notice it.

Getting a burning mattress out the window is often the best technique for keeping a fire from spreading. Getting a computer away from massive amounts of paper takes a bit of time though. Sensible thing to do, I imagine, but who knows what fumes are being emitted as you bend down to fiddle with connectors that might best be yanked rather than unscrewed and who knows when smoldering will end and the situation will deteriorate.

We all live in a world where the shooter may seven out at any time, we can calculate those percentages rather easily. A computer related fire in the home? I've no idea.

My extinguisher? Yeah, I think so. Somewhere in the garage, I think. Small, probably red. Probably somewhere in amongst all those red insecticide spray cans. Probably wouldn't work when I needed it and is probably too inadequate for most home fires.

I wonder if winning a lottery is more likely to happen? How reliable would the data be? Probably the data is too unreliable to bother figuring out the odds on a home computer fire.

I would guess the number of home fires started by a computer is rather small. There isn’t much flammable material in a computer, and the case does a good job to keep any fires contained. Still, when I saw smoke billowing out the side, I didn’t pause to think of all this.

OK, check this out.

and stick with it, just as you think you are getting bored ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw

Over at newegg dot com, one occasionally reads about power-supply failures. Some are rather pyrotechnic, and all are dangerous. When it fails, all one has is backup copies. Most everything in the tower is usually electrically damaged. Knock on wood, nothing catastrophic to report here.