Amid heatwave, why ACs are catching fire

Ghaziabad: In the last 24 hours, two flats — one each in Noida and Ghaziabad — were gutted in fires triggered due to blasts in indoor air conditioner units. Five such cases were reported over the last week in the two cities.While every year there is an upward trend in the number of fire incidents till May, data shared by the fire departments show Ghaziabad reported 518 fire incidents in April and May, while Noida recorded 715. Of these, 32 incidents of fire in Ghaziabad and 85 in Noida were triggered due to short circuits or blasts in indoor AC units between April 1 and June 5.

Fire department officials said with the region witnessing an unprecedented heatwave, residents have sought comfort in ACs and coolers. But many run the appliances for hours at a stretch, which causes extreme heat in the compressor and leads to explosion. On Thursday, a blast in the compressor of an AC led to a major fire in a two-storey house in Vasundhara. While no one was injured in the blaze, a major portion of the house was gutted.“The fire was caused by the blast in the compressor of the air conditioner, which was installed on the first floor of the house. A portion of the AC unit was found on a road adjacent to the house. We have found that the family was using the AC continuously since 6 pm on Wednesday,” CFO (Ghaziabad) Rahul Pal told TOI.Katil Chaudhary, the owner of the house, said the window AC was installed in his mother Harish Devi’s (76) room. “My mother was still sleeping when there was a loud explosion in the AC and a fire broke out. My wife Poonam heard her screams and found a thick blanket of smoke in the house. She evacuated the flat with my mother and our two children and called the police and fire department for help,” Chaudhary, who was away for work, said.Nearly 75% of the household items were gutted in the fire that raged for nearly four hours before it could be doused.On Wednesday night, flames from an indoor unit of an AC triggered a fire in a flat at Eldeco Amantran in Sector 119 as well. Just two days ago, a short circuit in the AC system of a garment factory triggered a massive fire in Noida’s Sector 10. While on June 1, a fire broke out at an IT firm in Sector 63 after a blast in an air conditioner. On May 29, a fire broke out in a three-storey residential building in Indirapuram’s Shakti Khand 2 after an explosion in an AC unit. The next day, a blast in an indoor unit of AC caused a major fire in a flat at Lotus Boulevard in Noida Sector 100. CFO Noida Pradeep Chaubey said people must get their ACs serviced by professionals. Unusual noises or odours can be signs of impending danger. If an AC unit is making grinding noises, vibrating, or emitting burning smells, shut it off immediately and contact a technician. "We are urging people not to use the AC at a stretch for more than five hours on social media platforms,” he said.AC mechanic Sunil Pal said condensers, which remove heat from the air, play a major role in cooling down an AC. “If the coil gets clogged due to dirt, the normal flow of gas gets disrupted, causing the condenser to overheat and increasing the risk of fire. Voltage fluctuations also affect the performance of the compressor, so people should install stabilizers and fix MCVs as well,” he said. A representative of an AC manufacturing company said people should use proper cables while installing ACs and ensure they are serviced regularly. “People should not run ACs continuously and maintain the temperature at 24 degrees instead of 17 or 16 degrees. If a person sets a lower temperature and the AC is operational for more than 20 to 24 hours, there is excess pressure on the compressor which can lead to fire,” he said. He also suggested that people should not run two or more AC units simultaneously. “Using them one after the other decreases the load on a single electricity connection and minimises the risk of short circuit,” he said.
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