Xbox 360 power supply responsible for house fire
The Xbox has been no stranger to being accused of causing fires or actually causing a fire but this may be the first time that the power supply itself on the Xbox 360 has been blamed.
As we’re all aware, electronics require proper ventilation, especially the Xbox 360 and that includes the power supply whether those conditions were responsible for the fire or not could be questioned but it does appear that the power supply is at fault.
The fire occurred while no one was home which is a little odd because one would think that the console would have to be on in order for any part of it to be able to overheat, including the power supply.
KTHV reports the fire department traced the source of the fire to a Xbox 360 console with the fire department captain saying,
"It was melted and it looked like they had it against the wall in on edge and things like that need a little space to dissipate heat."
Microsoft estimates that 1 in 10,000 Xbox 360’s are susceptible to a similar failure and advises all owners to unplug their Xbox 360 if it won’t be used for extended periods or will be unattended. There was an estimated $100,000 worth of damage to the property.
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9 Responses to “Xbox 360 power supply responsible for house fire”
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April 20th, 2008
Sweet! So not only can you get the Red Ring of death, but you could also get the Red Ring of Fire (RROF)!
April 20th, 2008
hahaha what a blow. sucked in to all you XBox360 owners, hahaha what a piece of sh1t!!! not only is it a crap unit which is constantly crashing, they can even kill you and your family now. Nice investment huh ? LOL
so glad I got rid of that piece of trash and bought my PS3 ! My parent’s can drive me up the wall sometimes but I don’t want my damn console to kill them !!
Microsoft, bow your head in shame. Especially because you even ADMIT there is a problem and rather than doing a system recall or offering a replacement power pack that’s tested to be safer, your advice is “unplug your 360 when your not using it”……pathetic, but hey, it’s Microsoft.
April 20th, 2008
ALL HAIL THE 360!!! Now its LITERALLY bringing down the house!!!
But to be fair.. didnt Sony have to recall all those faulty Laptop batteries that burst into flames??? Remember THAT fanboys???
Anyways all the companies mess up sometimes… *cough* not Nintendo *coudh*
No technology is fail proof.. so try not to be so harsh…
I am still waiting on GOW III
April 20th, 2008
Well after reading this article I walked over to my 360 which has been off all morning and the Power Supply was completley cold. There was no vibration or warmness or anything that would indicate that this thing is on when the power is off. But I just went back and checked and the light does stay on and there are only 2 vents on the top of each verticle end. Giving the design I cannot see how these 2 vents are covered up as they are on either end and not the body of the unit itself. Plus mine were packed with dust and the unit was still cold. Unless you wraped this thing with a shirt I find it impossible to say it could not ventaliate. As for the light being on it is no different from my laptop and my external drive because those lights stay on too. Maybe, the unit was melted because there was a “Fire”. I believe fire melts things. That means the the TV, the Xbox, the DVD player the stand and everything else around it was not harmed in the fire. These investagators are genius.
April 20th, 2008
Haha CAD, don’t try using logic on this site, it has no home here when it comes to the fanboys.
April 21st, 2008
@ CAD, while I whole heartedly maintain this is an isolated incident, and in no way indicitive of how all 360’s will act, I must say this to you:
Firefighters know a hell of a lot more about how fires start than anyone on this site. If the firefighter says it was the game console, then it was the game console.
When investigating fires, firefighters look for the “wick”, the piece of material in the remnants of the fire that is not totally burned, but scorched. If the power supply was the only thing in the house that was near burnt but not totally, then It would be logical to state that it caused the fire.
But again, I agree with your underlying statement:”The cows are over reacting, and this does not mean all Xbox’s will burn.”
The owner probably just didn’t have proper ventilation.
April 21st, 2008
i’m sorry, but i still don’t see where the finger was pointed at the supply. nowhere did the capt say the power supply was the source of origin. only that it was melted. bah…it makes good anti-360 fodder, which this site seems to thrive on. is it true? who knows. but with the creative editing done here, it’s smart to take it with a grain of salt.
April 21st, 2008
Why is this even news? Lots of things cause fires every day.
I wonder if toaster fanboys on toaster forums post about toasters causing fires in their toaster blogs…
Still, I read the whole thing, and all of the comments, so… I guess some part of me considers this newsworthy somehow.
-Arvis
April 22nd, 2008
lol get a ps3, much cooler, no power brick and you’ll still have a house to play it in after you buy it.