# road salt causes fires????

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 20, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695 "2003-03-20T01:43:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695/1 "2003-03-20T01:43:42Z")

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In Madison Wisconsin yesterday I heard a news report that some telephone poles caught fire. The culprit was the road salt used as a de-icer.

I swear I didn’t make this up nor did I hear this from a friend of a friend. I heard it twice as part of a teaser for the nightly news. I can’t seem to find printed documents on the web about the phenomenom ( I don’t get the paper, so I don’t know more than I’ve told you)

I know a fair amount of chemistry, but I can’t figure out how road salt can cause fires. Can anyone help me out here? Have you ever heard of such a thing, and if so what’s the mechanism?

You don’t suppose the reporters got their facts wrong do you?:dubious:

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695/2 "2003-03-20T01:45:23Z")

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Salt is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs water. Perhaps the salt dried out the poles making them more flammable? Just a WAG.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695/3 "2003-03-20T01:49:08Z")

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Or perhaps salty, conductive water worked its way into defective electrical insulation on the poles and caused a short circuit.

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-salt-causes-fires/162695/4 "2003-03-20T03:22:58Z")

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[http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NyZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjM0NTQ4NCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY=](http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NyZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjM0NTQ4NCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY=)

> [@](#):
>
> Still, the cumulative effects of the wet winter could continue to take a toll on tired roofs and the battered utility infrastructure. Underground pipes are vulnerable to shifts in the softening ground. And **the electricity system is vulnerable to "tracking’’ in which road salt corrodes the wires and sparks fires on utility poles** , said Karen Johnson, a spokeswoman for Public Service Electric and Gas. One such fire Saturday morning caused massive delays on Route 208 in Fair Lawn.