Reflected Sunlight Through Window Causes House Fire

Blaze: Sunlight is said to have reflected from the mirror onto curtains which caught alight before spreading to other furniture. Click to enlarge.

Make-up mirror left near window sparks bedroom blaze in south London: A bedroom was partially destroyed in a fire sparked when sunlight hit a mirror and was refracted onto some curtains, firefighters have said. The make-up mirror was left on a dressing table adjacent to the window at a home in Arthur Road, Wimbledon.

Rays from the sun were reflected onto the bedroom curtains which caught alight before spreading to furniture and other items close to the window yesterday evening. London Fire Brigade (LFB) said nobody was injured and the home occupier was alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm. Firefighters were called at 6.32pm and the blaze was brought under control by 7.09pm.

The LFB is urging people to keep mirrors and crystal or glass objects away from sunny areas in their homes. They also advised people to fit at least one smoke alarm per floor and ensure they are tested each week.

Chris Williams, from LFBs fire investigation team, said: “These sort of fires are not as rare as you would think and shows these types of fires are not an urban myth. "Crystals, glass ornaments and items such as dressing table mirrors should be kept out of direct sunlight. "Thankfully the resident was alerted to the fire by their smoke alarm. It’s essential that everyone has at least one smoke alarm on every level of their home."

Also see here.

Sunlight Causes Fires In Homes Off Shiny Objects

Another sunlight blaze caused by a mirror focussing rays onto bedding. Plenty of sunshine today and over the weekend so if you've got mirrors, bottles of water or even crystal balls on your window sill it might be a good idea to get them out of the pesky sunrays.

Sunlight causes another blaze this time in Croydon: The sun has again caused destruction, this time a bedroom on Peregrine Gardens in Shirley, Croydon. A concave mirror focused the sunrays onto bedding and badly damaging first floor. A woman escaped after hearing her smoke alarm sound and was checked over by London Ambulance Service crews.

Brigade fire investigator Mark Ross said: "The sun seems to be more prevalent this year so I’d ask everyone to keep mirrors, bottles of water  and crystal balls out of direct sunlight. Thankfully the resident was alerted to the fire by her smoke alarm that our crews fitted two years ago. "It is essential that everyone has at least one smoke alarm on every level of their home." Watch Manager, Andy Vaughan-Davies, of the Fire Investigation Team, explains why these fires aren't a myth..

The Brigade was called at 1122 and the fire was under control at 1210. Fire crews from Norbury and Addington fire stations were at the scene.

In the last five years we've seen 125 fires caused by the sun's rays. Other incidents this year include the Nutella jar fire incident and a small fire in the Mayfair home of lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone, were the other two. Mone told her 889,000 Twitter followers, sunlight had reflected off of a mirror onto a bean bag. She put the fire out herself and the Brigade didn't attend.

Click to enlarge.

The Brigade's top three safety tips:

• Keep mirrors and crystal or glass objects away from the sunny sills
• Fit at least one smoke alarm per floor and test them every week to make sure they work and the batteries are not flat
• If you have a fire, close the door on the blaze, get out stay out and call the Brigade

Also see: Clean Windows + Low Winter Sun + Glass Refocus = Fire

Customer Tip - Glass Jars Next To Windows Start Fires

Aftermath: The bedroom was ravaged by the blaze which killed beloved family pet Chili (Picture: London Fire Brigade). The low winter sunlight coming through the window is believed to have been focused by the glass jar and strengthened, sparking a blaze which devastated the family home and completely destroyed the roof of the house. Four fire engines and 21 firefighters attended the blaze.

Sun rays shining on Nutella jar spark fire destroying family home and killing dog: A dog was killed and a family home wrecked after a huge fire was started by sun rays shining through a Nutella jar. Beloved family pet Chili, a nine-year-old Jack Russell, died from smoke inhalation while trapped inside the house in Twickenham, south west London, as the fire raged.

Firefighters believe it was caused by low winter sunlight being refracted through the glass chocolate spread container, which was being used to hold loom bands. Electrical supervisor Declan Murphy, 41, told Get West London: "We're all heartbroken at Chili's death and we've been told it will be up to a year before the house is ready for us to move back into. "I want to ensure other people are aware of the dangers and know to keep glass items away from windows and out of direct sunlight so they don't have to go through anything like this."

Mr Murphy had been out of the house at the time, celebrating the anniversary of his engagement with his wife and two children. The jar had been sitting on the windowsill of his daughter's bedroom. The fire on Sunday, February 15, destroyed the first-floor bedroom and also damaged the roof of the house. Charlie Pugsley, from the London Fire Brigade's fire investigation unit, said: "It sounds far fetched that a jar containing a few rubber bands caused a severe house fire but that’s exactly what happened. "It’s worth spending five minutes checking that your window ledges are clear of any glass or crystal that might lead to potentially life changing blaze."

That incident prompted a warning from the London Fire Brigade, which revealed it had been called to 125 fires caused by the sun's rays over the last five years.

Warning after Nutella jar sparks devastating blaze: The fire came just days before sunlight refracted off a mirror table at the Mayfair home of lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone, setting alight a bean bag, on Thursday (February 19). That incident prompted a warning from the London Fire Brigade, which revealed it had been called to 125 fires caused by the sun's rays over the last five years - including five this winter alone. Charlie Pugsley, from the brigade's fire investigation unit, said: "These sort of fires are not as rare as you would think. I've seen everything from sparkly door knobs to crystal balls starting fires. "Crystal and glass ornaments and items such as mirror tables should be kept out of direct sunlight. We wouldn’t advise that people put fires out themselves but it is good to see that Ms Mone is not injured. "This shows these fires are not an urban myth. "Also make sure that you have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home."

Also see: Clean Windows + Low Winter Sun + Glass Refocus = Fire

Clean Windows + Low Winter Sun + Glass Refocus = Fire

Clean windows with low sun on to another glass surface can refocus sunlight to cause fires in properties.

Beware the winter sun, warn firefighters: Firefighters are warning people to beware of the fiery dangers winter sunshine brings. Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service say around this time every year they attend fires caused by the sun’s rays focussing through or onto glass, and then setting fire to nearby objects.

The winter sun is low in the sky and shines directly through windows, so any mirrored or glass items close to the window may re-focus the sun’s rays onto combustible items, often curtains, heating them up to a point where they spontaneously ignite into flames.

Paul Bray, Community Safety Protection manager for Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service said: “Many people do not realise the dangers of leaving glass objects too close to windows. Anything that can concentrate the sun’s ray should be moved away from the window to reduce the risk of fire breaking out, especially where the sun can shine directly into the room.

“I have personally attended two fires caused by make-up mirrors, positioned on dressers, in bedrooms. “One of these fires occurred in the early morning, with the sun shining through a south-easterly facing window, and the other occurred in the early evening, with the sun shining through a south westerly facing window. “Both days were bright and sunny, but not hot.

“If any of your rooms are penetrated by bright sunlight, especially at this time of year, carry out a check to make sure any glass objects cannot re-focus the sunlight to create a fire. “Now would also be a good time to discuss your fire procedures with the rest of your family, fit or check your smoke alarm is working, and put into practice a simple routine of shutting internal doors, not only as part of a bedtime routine - but also whenever you leave your home unattended, as even a light internal door will prevent or reduce smoke and heat damage to a rooms contents.”

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New Feel Good Glass

Fraunhofer researchers have developed a window coating (not pictured) that lets in more light in the wavelengths that have a beneficial effect on our sense of well-being.

Window coating improves mood by letting more light in: With many of us spending more and more time indoors, it can be a struggle to get the amount of sunlight our bodies crave. Modern heat-insulating, sun-protection glazing doesn’t help, as it reflects a noticeable percentage of the incident sunlight in the part of the spectrum that governs our hormonal balance. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research (ISC) have developed a coating for windows that lets in more light, in particular those wavelengths of light that have a beneficial effect on our sense of well-being.

While the human retina is most sensitive to light at the peak emission wavelength of sunlight, which brightens a room the most, Walther Glaubitt, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, says our biorhythms aren’t affected by these wavelengths. Rather, it is blue light that has an impact on our sense of well-being.

According to Glaubitt’s team colleague Dr. Jörn Probst, this is because there are special receptors at the end of the nerve connection that connect the human retina to the hypothalamus – the control center for the autonomic control system – that are sensitive to blue light. These receptors convert the blue light into light-and-dark signals that are sent to the part of the brain that functions as our biological clock, where, amongst other things, the nerve impulses regulate melatonin levels.

Melatonin levels help regulate the sleep-wake cycle, with high levels of melatonin caused by a lack of light leading to problems sleeping and concentrating, as well as depression and other psychological impairments. Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, can be one potential outcome from high melatonin levels.

The new coating, which Fraunhofer researchers developed with the help of industry partners, is particularly transmissive to light in the blue part of the spectrum - at wavelengths between 450 and 500 nanometers, but its transmissivity is increased across the entire range from 380 to 580 nanometers, which the researchers say is the portion of the spectrum responsible for promoting well-being. When applied to a window, the inorganic coating is barely perceptible as it is only 0.1 micrometers thick. It also has no effect on the heat-insulating properties of the window.

Currently, the ISC researchers have only applied the coating to the side of the glass that faces into the cavity between panes. They believe that coating both the inside and outside of the window will up the light transmissivity at 460 nanometers from the current 79 percent to around 98 percent.

UNIGLAS GmbH & Co. KG, which worked with Fraunhofer to bring the coating to market maturity, is set to launch a triple-glazing product featuring the coating, which is marketed under the name UNIGLAS | VITAL feel-good glass. This product boasts light transmissivity at 460 nanometers of 79 percent. However, this is with the coating only applied to the side of the glass facing into the cavity between panels. The ISC researchers believe that applying the coating to both the inside and outside of the windows, as they plan to do in the future, will result in windows with around 95 percent light transmissivity at 460 nanometers.

More news on this glass coating:

Science Blog

New glass coating makes you feel as if window is permanently open.

Feel-good glass for windows.

VITAL feel-good glass replaces pain with happy pane.