A Spontaneous Fire Started ... Like That?
An Autism Family Discoveries a Surprising Source of Risk
Each year on this day, The September 26th Project aims to inspire autism and special needs families to take just one step, do just one thing, to promote safety and prevent disaster. We know our families are stretched thin, many can barely make it through the day, much less add another task to their very full plate.
So we offer this cautionary tale from June of this year: a surprising cause of a serious fire affecting a family with twin sons with severe autism in San Jose, California. Maybe their story will provide you one idea for this year.
Mom Sandhya was home alone, in her backyard, while her husband and twins were on an outing. She heard a faint smoke alarm and first assumed it was something from a neighbor's home. But then she walked down her side yard and saw black smoke coming out of the side door of the garage, with loud crackling and whirling noises, and a glowing fire burning on a counter. She called 911, and with the help of quick-acting neighbors, they doused it with hoses before fire engines arrived. Fortunately the fire did not reach the second floor of the home.
They had no idea what might have caused the fire and the marshall and firefighters could not figure it out. The counter where the fire started had no electrical connections, outlets or switches, with no gas or appliances on that side. Afterward, however, a fire investigator went through the debris and found the cause: AA/AAA dead batteries that Sandhya had stored in a cardboard box. They had self-ignited. "I’ve been doing this for years," she said, "accumulated some and once a year or so drop them off at a place that accepts hazardous waste. I had ad no idea what I was doing for years was potentially this dangerous!"
The family was incredibly lucky that Sandhya was home and outside; that the fire did not start at night while the family slept ("It would have likely been fatal," she said); that she did not follow her custom and open the inside door from the house to the garage, which would have caused a tunnel of oxygen and drawn the fire into the house; and that neighbors helped, and fast.
Based on their story, Sandhya shares these tips. If you have old batteries:
• Tape the ends with masking tape; never put away a battery without taping.
• Don’t use a cardboard box or bag; use a fireproof container and make sure they don’t move.
• Lithium ion batteries are the worst - don’t mix with alkaline batteries. There was an old cell phone also in that same box which I had planned to recycle.
• Dead batteries hold minute amounts of charge until four years, so anytime they can create a spark.
• We added a monitored smoke detector from an alarm company like ADT or Xfinity on each floor. Say the parents are taking a nap or all are asleep, the alarm company gets alerted.
• We bought a fire escape drop-down ladder and practiced with the boys. They are scared, but the key is to get them to do it a couple of times so they aren't afraid.
• Learn more about battery risks at the EPA website
In the end, the garage was destroyed and her car melted on one side. But she is overwhelmingly grateful, knowing the outcome could easily have been far worse.
Sandhya, left and twins Akshay and Ashwin, pictured with friend Lisa, a month after the fire. They share their story in the hope of helping other families.
And Another Idea, from Feda's City of Fremont
Another precautionary measure is creating a Personal Emergency Profile. Here's an example from the City of Fremont, where Feda and Mu lived and passed away. Their first responders have worked closely with the local disability community to outreach to special needs families and provide them resources.
Get the Personal Emergency Profile PDF
Visit The September 26th Project.