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View Full Version : PA man says improperly installed dryer vent caused fire - Southeast Texas Record



Brian Hannigan
09-25-2007, 06:22 PM
InspectionNews has found this article about defect litigation or expert witness work that may be of interest to you.


PA man says improperly installed dryer vent caused fire (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/0-0&fd=R&url=http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/201684-pa-man-says-improperly-installed-dryer-vent-caused-fire&cid=0&ei=RbT5RrCvLIKG0gHQ5ZHnBg)
Southeast Texas Record, TX - 4 hours ago
He has broad experience in large-loss subrogation, fire cause and origin litigation, products liability litigation, construction defect litigation, ...



More... (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/0-0&fd=R&url=http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/201684-pa-man-says-improperly-installed-dryer-vent-caused-fire&cid=0&ei=RbT5RrCvLIKG0gHQ5ZHnBg)

Jerry Peck
09-25-2007, 07:24 PM
Boy, is that a mouthful of poorly chosen words or what?

"Port Arthur resident Frederick Goenne and his insurance company, Allstate, say the fire that claimed his home was started in a faulty dryer vent, which was built by A&W Aluminum, also known as Windell Broussard Homes."

What did A&W Aluminum, also known as Windell Broussard Homes, build?

A) The dryer vent?

B) The home?

C) Both?

The rest is not much better and offer no information as to what material the dryer vent was constructed from or how it was installed.

Nolan Kienitz
09-25-2007, 08:11 PM
Interesting to say the least. The author "David Yates" is a broker/Realtor/builder/talk show host/energy specialist/entrepreneur ... etc. (I attribute those descriptions to Mr. Yates himself).

He has radio shows on Saturdays in both the Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth markets and maybe San Antonio as well.

:eek:

Michael Thomas
09-26-2007, 06:30 AM
A Realtor who refers to me regularly recently had a dryer catch fire during a pre-closing walk through...

Probably half the dryer vents I see are incorrect in some way. I write them up, but I also tell my client: "There are around 15,000 dryer fires a year. Many (some say most) fires result from lint build-ups. If lint builds up, and catches fire, the *best* you can hope for is that a properly constructed vent system will keep the fire from spreading. So the best way to protect your family from these fires is to keep them from starting in the first place. To do that, you need to remember to do some simple maintenance, starting with cleaning the lint filter after *every* use...

And the first first thing that comes to my mind when I read that story is....

Jerry Peck
09-26-2007, 11:30 AM
And the first first thing that comes to my mind when I read that story is....

Michael,

I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that the *METAL* (even if aluminum) dryer vent 'did not catch on fire', by itself or otherwise.

:D

It may not have 'contained' the fire, especially if of aluminum, but the 'dryer vent' did not 'cause' the fire.

BARRY ADAIR
09-26-2007, 12:39 PM
I've posted these links before but we have new members that may find these useful.

Dryer Venting Guidelines - How to avoid dryer fire hazards (http://www.dryerbox.com/dryer_venting_guide.htm)

Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires: Safety Alert (http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5022.html)

http://www.dryerbox.com/convertions/pdfs/2003-Intl-Mechanical-Code.pdf

http://www.dryerbox.com/convertions/pdfs/2003-Intl-Residential-Code.pdf