Electrical outlet and the plug in Pest Repeller which burned, along with another Pest Repeller. / Courtesy photo by Duran McDaniel
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – When he and his wife saw smoke coming out from under the kitchen sink, fortunately he knew what to do, but more importantly they had a fire extinguisher handy.
Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said luckily, they happened to be home when it happened, or it may have ended differently.
“I grabbed an extinguisher, got in there, got it out and shut off the power,” McDaniel said.
They called 911 shortly after 11 o’clock yesterday morning and the fire crew arrived to their home on Gore Road north of Salkum.
What happened was about five years ago, the McDaniels got an electronic device called Pest Repeller that emits a tone of some sort to keep mice away, McDaniel said. His wife plugged it into an outlet beneath the sink, he said.
And then they forgot about it, he said.
They disassembled the electrical outlet to examine the area. McDaniel said it didn’t spread beyond the device and outlet and into the wall, only because the two were home to catch onto it immediately.
The chief said it is a good reminder of just how valuable keeping a fire extinguisher in a home can be. He’s definitely not going to plug the rodent repeller back under the sink, where it’s out of sight, he said.
He recalled responding to a wall fire in the recent past that appeared to have been ignited from a cell phone charger plugged into an outlet. He said his neighbor, who works for an insurance company, told him she had been seeing claims for similar problems stemming from plug in air fresheners.
It’s probably a good idea to pay some attention to the various devices we plug in at home, the chief said.
“I guess we ought to check them every once in awhile to see how warm they are,” McDaniel said. “And replace them every once in while.”
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
What is it with these firefighters?