Bathroom fan causes fire

[Kate Tarasenko]

Although the CO detector did its job and alerted the residents in time, this story is a little disconcerting because I know plenty of households that don't turn off the fan immediately upon leaving the bathroom.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by ktarasenko

Although the CO detector did its job and alerted the residents in time, this story is a little disconcerting because I know plenty of households that don't turn off the fan immediately upon leaving the bathroom.

Thanks for posting this Kate!
Note, the article said not to leave the house with the fan running.
There's a bit more to it though. Technically, the fan should be left running for 15-20 minutes after a shower/bath, or prolonged use of hot water at the sink, to remove the excess moisture from the bathroom. The recommendation is to have the fan on a timer that will turn it off after a preset amount of time.
Also, just another maintenance item most people never look at... dust/lint accumulation on the fan and motor housing, and restricted exhaust vents from insects/rodents/ etc...

[Michael Larson]

Timers on bath fans are always a good idea.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

This was a fire a near me a couple years back
attributed to a bathroom exhaust fan
These condos were new construction

http://goodwillfireco.fotki.com/inci...son-at-westto/

[Robert Meier]

So what's the actual problem with these fans, lack of maintenance? I've never seen a note on a fan that says it shouldn't be left on when unattended or only for intermittent use.

[David Hays]

I saw this artical in the Denver Post. I'm thinking the smoke detector rather than the CO detector went off.
What do you think?

[Robert Meier]

Originally Posted by dhays

I saw this article in the Denver Post. I'm thinking the smoke detector rather than the CO detector went off.
What do you think?

That would make more sense to me. It could have been a combo smoke alarm/CO alarm.

[David Hays]

Originally Posted by Robert Meier

That would make more sense to me. It could have been a combo smoke alarm/CO alarm.

We'll go with that.