Fire triggered from Orchid house’s electricity meter board, says MNDF

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Fire department has said that investigation into the fatal fire in Orchid this week had revealed that the fire was sparked by a faulty electricity meter board in the house.

‘’The fire started from the meter board and spread, and turned to a huge fire,’’ said the MNDF in a statement, suggesting that the cause of the fire incident was electricity.

MNDF said that the fire department first received the information at 9:21am in the morning, and the fire department attended the area and tried to control the fire at 9:27 am.

At 9:57 that morning, MNDF said that “90 percent” of the fire was under control.

‘’While they were trying to control the fire firefighters received information that two persons were stuck inside , as soon as officers knew about it, a team from the fire department entered the house searching for the two persons,’’ MNDF said. ‘’When officers found the two persons they were inside a 15 ft-9 ft room build on a wooden deck which was severely damaged by fire when officers reached there.’’

MNDF said that officers had noticed that neither of the two persons were showing any movement when they were discovered and that their bodies had been severely burned by the fire.

There were three women and one man in the house when the incident occurred, two of them died while the third was a maid in the house who escaped on her own, said the MNDF.

The man received minor injuries during attempts to save the other two women, however after he escaped through the window to get someone to assist him to rescue to the two inside, the fire spread and he was unable to get back inside afterwards, according to the MNDF.

The identities of the two victims were identified as Iuthisham Adam and Dhon Sitthi of Haaji Edhuru, the mother of both Deputy Health Minister Fathimath Afiya and Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam.

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7 thoughts on “Fire triggered from Orchid house’s electricity meter board, says MNDF”

  1. I believe this was due to a punishment from Allah, since STELCO doesn't use Halal oil in producing electricity.

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  2. what oil is halal? olive oil? stelco should use olive oil in its generators.

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  3. Has anyone ever wondered or pondered about the act of arson?

    Just a couple of months earlier I read that a house in which the house of the wife (or maybe ex-wife – can’t recall fully now) of Special Envoy to the President, Ibrahim Hussein Zaki was on fire. But luckily, that time the fire was put off.

    Just a couple of weeks ago I can remember when a commoner’s place was completely burnt down. And I was near the place prior to the incident. Everybody always was blaming the electricity.

    I was skeptical about all this. Because, just a about three minutes ago I was in the adjacent building’s terrace with my friend to collect some plants to be taken to my place. And while I came down with the plants the house next to the one I came down was on fire. And with my past fire training and other knowledge put together, I cannot think of an electrical fault. This is just logic I was using.

    I mingled with the crowds on the road and was listening to what people were saying. After about five minutes more than one reliable and responsible-type neighbors said something about some young strangers (most probably addicts) were seen to go in place which burnt down.

    After sometime, and still from the crow, someone said something about a ‘vengeance’.

    I’ve observed the dramatic fight patterns on the streets since the night when the current president returned from the UK to register a political party. Not only I, but most of the people in Male’ would’ve seen this (if not go back through the Haveeru or other news media of those dates). Also I’ve seen one night an a guy with a with samurai sword in the same period (i.e. before any political party was ever legalized).

    So my questions are:-

    (1) Dose someone or people (i.e. dark forces) want to show the common people that with democracy and party system it’s not SAFE?

    (NB.: The first time when a petition was sent to Maumoon it was not allowed stating that the nation is ‘unfamiliar’/'unfriendly’ to such a system.)

    (2) Can this be the opposition gang-style political leaders manipulating the addicts to burn up or disorient the lives of the current political figures in power?

    (NB.: Arson is very common in the history of Maldivian politics. Usually, there have been major places set on fire in Male’ by the opposition gang-style political leaders who’ve always craved for power.)

    (3) Can a whole place/house be burnt down just with a simple electrical fault or just the burning of a frying pan?

    (4) Wont petrol, or some other vigorously combustible with a higher flash and fire point, spread the fire to many objects all at the same time in just seconds?

    (5) Also, could it be that if these dark forces want to create a public hatred towards the current government by igniting randomly in the city so that eventually in one incident there will be people who’ve burnt down with the place?

    (NB.: So far there have been few cases of such if the fire incident was on land.)

    (6) Last but not the least. Have you ever counted the fire incidents relating to boat yards, vehicles and business premises?

    (NB. It was just last week when a manager from an atoll hospital told me at a coffee that the cable TV provider’s business premises was completely burnt down.)

    My advice is not only to keep your mouths OPEN; but your brain together with the eyes and ears too. Use your God given faculties to find out the truth about the happenings around you – around us all.
    Keep the vengeance away. Be honest in what you think, see, hear and say or write.

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  4. Many factors influence fire spread within buildings, and one of the most important is the interior finish material.

    Applied Fire Science shows that in a room the temperature should be more than 120 centigrade for the fire to spread. If not NO SPREAD.

    Also applied fire science shows that it the spread rate for plywood has 7 in/min spread rate at 300 degree cel temperatures.

    Question is will just a fire at an electric metre on fire would produce 120 deg cel. in the first place?

    Or was the metre so HOT like it was all of a sudden 300 deg. cel.? Was there someone in the house who tried to power up a whole block of houses or something?

    If the fire starter was the electric metre; what was the material next to the meter (apart from the metreboard and usuals - which won't produce a huge fire)?

    How can anybody without asking which materials were around just blame it all on the innocent electric metre?

    We all understant that people use more electrical applicaces on one plug point. And all tehnical people would understant that might lead to a probable burning out at the metre board.

    But that shouldn't burn up the whole house with people in borad daylight without giving the people any chance to evacuate? In such a case we can say someone tried to power up a bunch of houses from one plug point. Also hey, why must the whole house burn up so quickly (spread so quickly)? Is the house like a GIANT MATCH STICK? Why do we all get so much trouble to get a small piece of timber on fire at camps/picnics (but a whole house burns with people living in it just because of a stupid OVERHEATED ELECTIC METRE)?

    And was the house a gas producing factory or something which catalysed the 'no-escape in broad daylight' complete burning thing?

    What were the materials used in construction specifically the walls? Since the fire should've spread mainly via the walls or due to the heat of the fire on the walls to consume the whole house, what else were on the walls? What type of walls were there? Were they fully build with timber? Or where there cement walls with with plywood claddings? If plywood was used what was their thickness? Was the plywood with formica or just paint?

    One can only blame the electric metere when all the above questions are answered? How come we Maldivians DON'T USE BRAINS? How many so-called university graduates and big-shots are in the line fields using their brains in ther skulls?

    An electric metre might be over heated and a small fire may occur. But, in broad daylight, it would not have spread so quickly and get merciless by people getting burnt alive. Because, where there is fire there is smoke and smell. These are the indications of fire - the NATURAL FIRE ALARM. This NATURAL FIRE ALARM, in the daytime is more than sufficient enough even for the disabled/aged people to call for the assistance for others.

    In borad daylight and with a sudden huge spread, leaving less chance for people to evacuate, can most probably be due to an act of arson.

    Also given below are the extracts from MNDF statement.
    ======
    9:21 First Information Report (FIR) logged at the Fire Station.
    9:22 Fire vehicles dispatched
    9:27 Fire vehicles arrival to the scene.
    9:57 90% of the fire extinguished.
    12:32 Complete extingushing of the fire.
    ======
    0:05 Duration for arrival of fire vehicles since reported.
    0:06 Duration for the arrival of fire vehicles since the FIR reached the Fire Station.
    ======
    0:30 Time elapsed between the arrival of the fire vehicles and "90% controlled status".
    0:36 Total time elapsed between FIR time and the "90% controlled status".
    ======
    3:05 Time elapsed between the arrival of the fire vehicles and "Total extinguished status".
    3:11 Total time elapsed between FIR time and the "Total extinguished status".
    ======
    2:35 Time elapsed between the "90% controlled status" and "Total extinguished status".
    ======

    Just a one of the many research links as a ref.:-
    ======
    http://books.google.com/books?id=_9Yv_KlI1QMC&pg=PT101&lpg=PT101&dq=fire+spreading+rate+on+plywood&source=bl&ots=Roa4hSyPd4&sig=K8gwX4i1d6GENzH1y8mexJgVuPA&hl=en&ei=kNKLTaaqG4_KvQPGjsnDDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=fire%20spreading%20rate%20on%20plywood&f=false

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  5. this is nothing to do with religion. why you guys putting religios in everything? are to lazzy to find out what is real.
    Blame this to the goverment, they are only taking money for licens and sending young people to check with a check list who has no clou, the senior staff sitting on there fat ..... and pretending they know. I blame the govement taking money but protecting the them id yes PAY ! then pray

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  6. I contest the conclusion that the fire is from an electric spark in the meter board. That has become "easy" cause. A more professional investigation must be carried out. Every building has an electrical connection. We would need to revise the regulations and the way electricity is provided if this is true.

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