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PG&E Smart Meters inaccurately blamed for Santa Rosa fire

April 12, 2011

CORRECTION: Reports that Smart Meters caused a fire in Santa Rosa are incorrect.

A short in the Santa Rosa Mall’s electrical system took the path of least resistance and blew out several standard and Smart Meters, said Santa Rosa Fire Chief Mark McCormick.

PG&E was not responsible for the fire. To date, Smart Meters have not been found to create a fire hazard, said PG&E spokesperson Greg Snapper.

ORIGINAL: Activists are claiming that a recent fire at a shopping mall in Santa Rosa was caused by an  explosion of three PG&E Smart Meters. [EMF Reports]

Sandi Maurer of the EMF Safety Network said the April 7 incident at the Santa Rosa Mall stemmed from a fire in the electrical room. She cited the official report from the Fire Department, “upon investigation, found three PG&E Smart Meters had blown off the electrical panel causing damage to the interior wiring of the electrical panel. A fire was still smoldering . . . “

According to newspaper reports, Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Jack Piccinini described the scene as a “meltdown.”

Maurer claims that Smart Meters have also been responsible for fires in Bakersfield, El Cerrito, and Berkeley.

“Smart Meters are dangerous and PG&E and the CPUC should act now to stop the installation.” said Maurer.

PG&E has installed wireless Smart Meters in many parts of northern San Luis Obispo County. Recent workshops were held in Nipomo to educate the public about forthcoming installation. Meanwhile, local activists want a more comprehensive “opt-out” option for customers who prefer wired Smart Meters.


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PG&E says the meters “Smart Meters have not been found to create a fire hazard, said PG&E spokesperson Greg Snapper”.

Sure we can trust the electric utilities for safety issues. Just ask the folks at Fukushima. or Chernobyl. or Three Mile Island…


Video of a Smart Meter fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5yie2gFhmE


News report of a Smart Meter fire.

http://www.wset.com/story/13487932/smart-meters-a-fire-hazard?redirected=true

And a letter to the meter manufacturer.

http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wset/Sarah_letter.pdf


US court describes “corona discharge” in which smart meters can “potentially cause a fire”

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=sensus+cannon+corona&hl=en&as_sdt=203&case=1966039804553725949&scilh=0


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Congratulations on biting on anything that will produce an inflammatory headline. This is the way lies get spread across the internet at lightning speed. Acorn, NPR, PG&E all get intentionally punked and muckrakers send the untruths around the world. Too much coffee? (Have you seen this one, though?)


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/13/ap-falls-for-hoax-general-electric-is-not-donating-3-2-billion-to-the-u-s-treasury/


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Acorn deserves their press as does NPR and PG&E. My opinion.


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Acorn deserves their press What exactly did Acorn do to earn the press ? NPR and PGE are just across from each other at the corporate trough, but Acorn, what did they actually do? curious because they put weatherstripping on a neighbor’s apt once, I thought they were the good guys.


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I read (somewhere) that if you don’t pay your bill then PG&E can send a signal to your Smart Meter to blow up and burn down your house!!! Be warned! Sheesh…


Note, that the original article makes no mention of Smart Meters. It is the very shady “EMF Network” that makes the unsourced, unproven, unreliable claim; and, there is no evidence that the meters themselves were the cause of the explosion.


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So, what about all of the electrical fires that could not possibly have been caused by smart meters? Do I detect a slight confirmation bias here?


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A room full of smart meters….


I have it! they were all in the room reporting all those kilowatts Hearing the reports all those network packets bouncing around the room Critical Mass!! Fire Fire!


Too soon to tell what really happend.


Someone here needs to loosen the strap on the tin foil hat.


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What incendiary fallacy! Activists have motives. Electrical panel fires happen all the time. I’ve seen many. This is pure whipping up fear.


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