# $6M Maryland home burned up by electrical fault and 15' of dry tree. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155 "2015-01-28T22:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/21 "2015-01-29T15:55:05Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > My tree is up. Hope I don’t die. I am responsible enough to have a small house, though. Is it a real tree? How long ago was it cut down? P.S. You do realize that it’s almost February, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/22 "2015-01-29T16:26:23Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The linked article states that the Christmas tree was still up on January 19th (weeks after Christmas), and that the tree had been cut down about _two months_ earlier. > > This is a horrible tragedy, and the loss of life sickens me, but this seems like the height of irresponsibility to me. Who leaves a real tree up in their house that long? > > Years ago, people put their real tree up a few days before Christmas, and took it down shortly thereafter. You can’t safely put a real tree in a house for two months. That’s just asking for trouble. About a month ago I saw some news stories about some old guy in Wisconsin who’s had a tree up for 40 years. I’m surprised his house didn’t burn down years ago. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/23 "2015-01-29T16:57:47Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yes, [del]lieu’s[/del] Loose free range rocks; Guaranteed fireproof and 100% organic. And if there is a fire - can be used to open a window in a hurry! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/24 "2015-01-29T17:47:25Z")
Can you imagine how f’ed up their next Christmas is going to be? ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/25 "2015-01-29T17:50:34Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > About a month ago I saw some news stories about some old guy in Wisconsin who’s had a tree up for 40 years. I’m surprised his house didn’t burn down years ago. I saw that, too. I was surprised that there were still needles on the tree. Brown, of course. But I would have assumed they would have all fallen off long ago. Very weird, even if he was doing it as a sentimental remembrance thing. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/26 "2015-01-29T19:10:24Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I saw that, too. I was surprised that there were still needles on the tree. Brown, of course. But I would have assumed they would have all fallen off long ago. Very weird, even if he was doing it as a sentimental remembrance thing. I missed that story but there’s no way needles would still be on a cut tree that long. I’m guessing he applied some kind of coating or preservative to it. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/27 "2015-01-30T05:38:41Z")
I heard from my reporter friend who was on the story Wednesday when this result was announced that the Anne Arundel County Fire Department has acquired 3 trees the same size as the one that burned the Castle down, and they plan to let them dry out (the same amount of time) then burn them at the [ATF Fire Research Lab](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/jan2002/index.htm/donahue.htm) in Maryland. They have an area where they can burn full size homes in a controlled environment. I’ve shot stories in there - it’s crazy scary to be around. Looking for a teachable moment I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/28 "2015-01-30T13:11:29Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The linked article states that the Christmas tree was still up on January 19th (weeks after Christmas), and that the tree had been cut down about _two months_ earlier. > > This is a horrible tragedy, and the loss of life sickens me, but this seems like the height of irresponsibility to me. Who leaves a real tree up in their house that long? > > Years ago, people put their real tree up a few days before Christmas, and took it down shortly thereafter. You can’t safely put a real tree in a house for two months. That’s just asking for trouble. Back in my real Christmas tree days we always put it up on Christmas eve and took it down on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th. Even by then if you weren’t diligent about watering it would be pretty damn dry. Another two weeks it would have been tinder. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/29 "2015-01-30T15:26:48Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > Looking for a teachable moment I suppose. Are they doing this just to learn, or are they investigating a possible arson, to see if a one to two month old tree would burn so quickly that residents couldn’t get out? In other words, is it an academic or investigative exercise? ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/30 "2015-01-30T16:51:49Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > In other words, is it an academic or investigative exercise? I suspect they want to show to the general unbelievers out there in the general public that the tree can generate sufficient heat, smoke and carbon monoxide within 30 to 45 seconds to have killed everyone in the house quite efficiently and very quickly. Unless you’ve been to a number of structure fires you can’t quite fathom just how fast your life (and your possessions) can turn into ashes. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/31 "2015-01-30T18:14:28Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I think we need a new tradition of decorating a Christmas rock each year. We can still go out into the countryside and pick out the perfect rock to bring into our homes. We can still festoon it with ornaments and put presents around it’s base. But we won’t need to keep it watered and when the holiday is over we can safely move it outside and place it in the landscaping, to be looked back upon fondly as additional seasons pass. > > Why yes, this did come from a geologist Why do you ask? With my luck, the yule rock I’d choose would be a boulder of anthracite coal. ETA: I notice that **chrisk** made the same point, more subtly: > [@chrisk](#): > > I suspect those things [might contradict each other](http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/geology/sedimentary-rocks/organic-sedimentary-rocks). ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/32 "2015-01-30T18:44:23Z")
I was thinking of putting up a poll to see if Dopers use real or artificial trees but I see there is one from 2010: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=2090](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=2090) Surprising results for real trees are as high as they are as the people I know have switched to artificial. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/33 "2015-01-30T19:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=2gigch1] I heard from my reporter friend who was on the story Wednesday when this result was announced that the Anne Arundel County Fire Department has acquired 3 trees the same size as the one that burned the Castle down, and they plan to let them dry out (the same amount of time) then burn them at the [ATF Fire Research Lab](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/jan2002/index.htm/donahue.htm) in Maryland. They have an area where they can burn full size homes in a controlled environment. I’ve shot stories in there - it’s crazy scary to be around. Looking for a teachable moment I suppose. [/QUOTE] Hopefully they use one of the trees to demonstrate how fire sprinklers probably could have extinguished the tree before it spread to the rest of the house, allowing all six people to escape. Possibly wet and naked, but alive. To install them during construction, sprinklers cost about $1.50 per square foot of protected area. (cost varies by region, construction type, and options such as “invisible” heads) You’ll spend more than that on carpet - why not spend a few bucks to protect your life? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/34 "2015-01-30T19:42:22Z")
We’re back down at the home today on a follow up. AA FD says initial cause appears to be a fault in the in-floor electric receptacle that the tree was plugged into. “The tree was so dry the maids had stopped vacuuming up the needles because they were clogging up the vacuum” we were told. Confirmed the tree fire test will take place after 60 days. Bought the trees from the same source. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/35 "2015-01-31T12:26:55Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > We’re back down at the home today on a follow up. AA FD says initial cause appears to be a fault in the in-floor electric receptacle that the tree was plugged into. > > “The tree was so dry the maids had stopped vacuuming up the needles because they were clogging up the vacuum” we were told. > > Confirmed the tree fire test will take place after 60 days. Bought the trees from the same source. Dropping needles? Hmm. Might as well put can as gasoline out. In the recent thread I talked about a fire building contest. > [@](#): > > As other people said, pine trees burn really well. Once, as a scout, our troop participated in a fire building contest. Usually contests involved boiling water, but that one was was simply to burn a rope about two feet off the ground. We were given a couple of minutes for prep time and then they rang a bell for the troops to start their fires. We were given three matches, but everything else was to be gathered there in the woods. Axes and saws were permitted. > > As our troop’s fire expert, I told the other guys to forget getting any sticks, logs or even twigs. Just get as many dry pine needles as possible. Six guys racing with handfuls of pine needles can collect quite a pile in three minutes. > > They gave the warning, the bell sounded, I lit a match, poof, a fireball and we won. As a further explanation, other troops were using logs and thicker sticks, trying to build classic fires which could sustain burning for a while. There’s no need. Pine needles are going to burn really hot and really quickly. At least that investigation determined the cause of the fire. That test will most likely be just for educational purposes. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/36 "2015-01-31T13:31:18Z")
due to really long tree time, dec. 16 - jan. 8 or 14, we always had artificial or potted trees. so very sad for the parents, to lose everyone…no words. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/37 "2015-01-31T18:39:03Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I was thinking of putting up a poll to see if Dopers use real or artificial trees but I see there is one from 2010: > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=2090](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=2090) > > Surprising results for real trees are as high as they are as the people I know have switched to artificial. Not a proper poll but [here’s a thread from this past holiday season](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743824). ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/38 "2015-01-31T20:14:05Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yes, [del]lieu’s[/del] Loose free range rocks; Guaranteed fireproof and 100% organic. Rock Bottom prices, I’ll bet. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155/39 "2015-01-31T20:32:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Were the lights plugged in (at 3:30 AM)? Doubly irresponsible. Yes, the article says the lights were plugged in 24/7. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6m-maryland-home-burned-up-by-electrical-fault-and-15-of-dry-tree/711155.md?page=1)