A gamer escaped unhurt from a house fire. However, his gaming PC did not survive the fire. One particular component, however, remained unscathed.
Fires in nature and homes are always problematic and dangerous for both humans and animals. A fire does not discriminate in such situations. Many things fall victim to the flames and are destroyed forever. If, in such a case, the insurance does not cover the damage, one must hope for the goodwill of the PC manufacturer.
However, there apparently are hardware components that can withstand high temperatures and show almost no damage. A user on Reddit now reports such a case with a completely charred gaming PC due to a fire.
“It withstood fire, water, and debris.” – Cable in gaming PC surprisingly fire-resistant
What is it about? A service employee of a hardware manufacturer reports on Reddit about a customer’s case. Supposedly, he sent him a photo of the interior of his gaming PC. The computer and the installed hardware shown in the picture look heavily damaged. The case is covered in ashes and appears completely charred.
Power supply, graphics card, RAM, and parts of the all-in-one water cooling system of the CPU are still recognizable. The fans and other plastic components have melted and are severely deformed. Only the purple power cable of the graphics card looks almost undamaged.
This cable turned out to be seemingly flame-retardant and fireproof. For this reason, the gamer is said to have decided to contact the store that sold him the cable back then.
How did this destruction occur? The customer reported to the employee about a fire in his house. A problem with the electrical cables in the walls of the building is mentioned as a possible cause of the fire. According to the man’s statements, the building was completely destroyed in the process.
The employee said that initially he assumed it was a product complaint related to the condition of the gaming PC. Because sometimes, mistakes can be made when building a gaming PC that can also lead to a fire.
What does the affected gamer say about this? The customer then supposedly informed him accordingly and told him everything. He is said to have said:
No! The fire burned the walls of my house, but the cables I purchased withstood fire, water, and heavy debris.
They still function perfectly, even after going through the fire.
However, there is no conclusive evidence for this. Fortunately, no one was reported injured in the fire.
Everything destroyed by fire, but the cable still works
What happens in a fire? In a house fire, high temperatures of several hundred degrees can be reached within minutes. However, there are some differences in the type, classification, and size of fires.
One can distinguish between three different types of fires. The height of the reaction temperature or the luminosity associated with the fire is decisive, among other factors. This leads to the following types of fire:
- Smoldering fire, approx. 150 to 500 °C
- Glowing/flame fire, approx. 500 – 1000 °C
- Open fire, 100 °C
A classification into fire classes occurs according to the material that burns in a fire. This is intended to make it easier for firefighters to choose an appropriate extinguishing agent for a fire. According to European standards, there are a total of 5 different fire classes, each describing a specific material property and a suitable extinguishing agent for it. Details can be found at www.rauchmeldertest.net.
The fire size determines what basic countermeasures should be taken. The classification into small fire a/b, medium fire, and large fire is intended to help better assess a situation with fire. For example, this is decisive for whether the fire department is alerted or not.
Is it known what kind of fire the gamer experienced? No, as there are no specific details about the house fire, it can only be speculated as to the extent of the fire’s damage. The maximum temperatures reached are also unknown. However, all these are factors that can make a huge difference in the consequences of a fire.
Nevertheless, it is surprising that at least the cable of the graphics card appears to be undamaged. Whether fire-retardant material was used for the cable that is also heat-resistant is not explained by the service employee.
However, it can be doubted that the cable is still fully functional. Even if this is claimed by the customer. Heat and smoke can also have caused internal damage to the material of the component.
The owner of a PS5 was lucky in misfortune, as his console still works after a house fire.
