The Deputy State Fire Marshal's report said the cause of the Mississippi Trade Mart fire that took place March 21 was accidental. The report states the investigation was unable to conclude whether an overloaded extension cord or a candle left burning by a fabric curtain when the facility closed caused the fire.
The Trade Mart held the Spring Market and All 4 Children Consignment events from March 20-22. A fire broke out at a vendor's booth but was contained to the booth and several adjacent booths.
The report states the fire broke out shortly after midnight on March 20. A security guard discovered the fire and promptly notified the Jackson Fire Department. Firefighters arrived on scene within three minutes and soon got the fire under control.
Deputy Fire Marshal Josh Ray investigated the fire and produced a report. Mr. Ray states:
It is DSFM Ray's conclusion that the fire located at 1200 Mississippi Street, Jackson, MS 39201, is an accidental Fire. The examination revealed that the fire started along the curtain wall that separated the Prostyle Paris booth and the Savvy Gourmand booth.
DSFM Ray located six portable makeup vanities. While examining the vanities, DSFM Ray noticed that each vanity had a multiplug attached to the side with three power cords for hair styling equipment plugged into it. The vanities then had a cord that ran down to an extension cord that was taped to the floor andthen plugged into a power strip. DSFM Ray was also able to locate a small-gauge extension cord that had significant damage to it. The stranded wire for the cord was frayed and separated. The extension cords had been run from the electrical receptacle and had items stacked on top of them. DSFM Ray was able to view video footage from the Trade Mart.
The video showed a woman in the Prostyle Paris booth lighting a candle on a shelf near the fabric curtain separating their booth from the Savvy Gourmand booth. The video showed that the candle was still burning at the end of the day when everyone had left the building. The next video clip was when the fire had already started. Director Patrick said that the cameras are motion-activated and only record when there is motion.The video shows the fire burning along the curtain that separated the Prostyle Paris booth and the Savvy Gourmand booth. The fire is burning the curtain from the bottom to the top and is starting to burn the curtain wall between the Savvy Gourmand booth and the Heels 2 Spurs Booth. Due to the extent of the damage, DSFM Ray was unable to determine if the cause of the fire was due to an electrical failure or the candle coming in contact with combustible material.
Posted below is the report. The pictures are available staring on p.59.
12 comments:
Fire Sale. Those clothes across the way (in the back of photo) gotta stink.
Does insurance pay for preventable fires caused by messy, overloaded extension cords and outlets? Is such electrical equipment subject to required inspections?
I feel like there should be discussion on the remediation. I was there this week and it has a strong fire smell in there.. Its all concrete and metal so I do not know what they are waiting on. I am told its bad to breathe it in, but they are still holding events.
If the circuit is overloaded the circuit breaker should've tripped. However, if after hours there should not have been much if any load on the circuit as the equipment would not have been in use.
The fire marshal must be married. He managed to express his opinion so eloquently without ever actually saying a woman did it.
Couldn’t decide what started the fire 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
I know what caused it. Refer to the fire triangle - O2, fuel, and heat.
The over current protection device (circuit breaker) is sized to protect the electrical circuit based on a number of factors. There is a reason Electrical Codes specify a minimum conductor (wire) size for a given circuit load.
There is a reason that undersized current carrying wires are not allowed, first and most importantly the undersized wire can and will overheat and cause a fire before the circuit breaker trips.
The electrical codes also specify what types of wires are used and how they are protected from physical damage of all sorts. This is how after fire investigation findings like:
"DSFM Ray was also able to locate a small-gauge extension cord that had significant damage to it. The stranded wire for the cord was frayed and separated. The extension cords had been run from the electrical receptacle and had items stacked on top of them"
can be prevented and protect life and property.
Apparently, not on that day in Jackson.
Also, WTF are they thinking allowing any candles or other such open flames in an occupied exhibit hall?
What's next, a propane fired turkey fryer explosion?!
If it's still standing it's good to go.
FULL SEND!
State agency heads protect each other. Enter Sergeant Schultz.
Lots of CYA taking place.
Translation: They don't know what did it, but found two promising possibilities. There could have been others that were not found. So pick a convenient scapegoat(s). The fire marshal inspector got paid anyway. That's what counts.
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