Three articles below on ComEd electric meter fires in Schaumberg, Illinois. This latest one caused $20,000. in damage, and the previous one caused $150,000. in damage and displaced 18 families. 

Were these Smart Meters? It seems so. The city website says ComEd Smart Meters were to be fully installed there by September 2015.

ComEd representatives are scheduled to begin installing smart meters in the Schaumburg area in December 2014 as part of a $2.6 billion infrastructure investment to modernize its grid…

ComEd will begin installing smart meters at residential homes through 2015. Commercial and industrial meters will be installed beginning in 2015. The installation of all 41,574 meters is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2015.
http://www.villageofschaumburg.com/depts/engg_pw/utilities/comed_meters.htm

What will the ICC and state legislators do about this latest fire? Will they sweep it under the rug as they go off to Thanksgiving celebrations, and members of the public face the trauma, loss of possessions, disruption of their lives, and  financial loss, and this happening with the cold season already here?

How many people will have their homes damaged and be hurt or killed in Smart Meter fires before officials take action?

From the Daily Herald

Schaumburg (Illinois) electrical meter fire causes $20K damage
by Harry Hitzeman
November 19, 2016

A ComEd electrical meter on a home on the 800 block of Seers Drive in Schaumburg caught fire Saturday afternoon, causing an estimated $20,000 damage to the home’s basement and interior, said Battalion Chief Rick Anderson.

Firefighters responded to the scene at about 5 p.m. and Anderson said the fire had spread into the basement.

Anderson said the fire was quickly extinguished but could not specify if the meter was a new ComEd “smartmeter” because it was destroyed.

No injuries were reported but the home was rendered uninhabitable, at least for the night, because ComEd had to cut the power to the home, Anderson said.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161119/news/161118746/

And this from January 2016, during the winter.

18 families displaced after fire in Schaumburg
by Lauren Rohr
January 24, 2016

Eighteen families were displaced Sunday after electrical meters caught fire and power was shut off at a Schaumburg condominium building, fire officials said.

Residents of the three-story, multifamily building in the 2300 block of John Rolfe Drive noticed smoke coming through their vents about 12:55 p.m., said Angela Walsh, Schaumburg Fire Department public education and information officer.

The building is owned by Fellowship Housing, a nonprofit that offers programs and services for single mothers and their children who are at risk of homelessness, said Associate Director Pam Orr.

The fire was contained to a communal utility room that houses electrical meters and hot water heaters for six of the building’s 18 units, Walsh said.

Fire officials initially thought they could isolate that section of the building and shut down the gas, electric and heat for only those six units, she said. After investigating further, she said, they had to shut down the entire building.

“The main reason for displacement is because the power is shut down,” Walsh said. “It’s not because of damage in their units; it’s because of no power.”

Nobody was injured, she said, and fire officials are unsure of how long families may be displaced.

Orr said the organization is trying to find places for the families to live, but declined to comment further.

Red Cross also is helping the families with immediate services, Walsh said.

The Schaumburg Fire Department is investigating the fire.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160124/news/160129378/

Families still displaced after Schaumburg condo fire
by Eric Peterson
January 26, 2016

Though an 18-unit condominium building in Schaumburg left without power after a fire Sunday remains uninhabitable, six families who were being housed there by Fellowship Housing are safely in temporary accommodations elsewhere, officials said.

Fellowship Housing is a nonprofit that offers programs and services for single mothers and their children who are at risk of homelessness.

The Hoffman Estates-based agency owns six of the units in the building on the 2300 block of John Rolfe Drive, Associate Director Pam Orr said.

All the residents of those units had personal renter’s insurance and are being housed in places where they can remain until the Schaumburg condo building is made habitable again, she said.

The Fellowship Housing will take the longest to restore, Orr added.

The fire was determined to be electrical in nature, but its precise source could not be pinpointed, said Angela Walsh, the Schaumburg Fire Department’s public education and information officer.

Damage was estimated at $150,000, and the time frame for making the building habitable again is unknown to the fire department, she said.

The fire was reported about 12:55 p.m. Sunday when residents of the three-story building noticed smoke coming through their vents. Firefighters contained the blaze to a communal utility room that houses electrical meters and hot water heaters for six of the building’s 18 units, Walsh said.

No one was injured, officials said.

Fire officials initially thought they could isolate that section of the building and shut down the gas, electric and heat for only those six units. But after investigating further, they found they had to shut down the entire building.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160126/news/160129133/

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