Firefighters Respond to Computer on Fire on Balcony in Arlington

Arlington County firefighters responded Friday morning to a computer on fire on the balcony of an apartment in Crystal City.

Units were on the scene in the 2600 block of Crystal Drive for a fire on a sixth-floor balcony, the department said in a message posted on social media.

The fire department said it extinguished the small computer fire and units were working Friday morning on smoke removal.

The National Fire Protection Association says in a 2013 report that in 2007-2011, U.S. municipal fire departments responded to 1,360 structure fires per year involving office equipment, including 730 home fires and 630 non-home fires, with associated annual home losses of 11 civilian deaths, 51 civilian injuries and $28 million in direct property damage, and associated annual non-home losses of no civilian deaths, 11 civilian injuries and $42 million in direct property damage.

Computer-related equipment accounted for 79 percent of the home office equipment fires and 67 percent of the non-home office equipment fires.

These estimates are based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA’s) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) annual fire department experience survey.

Northeastern University offers tips on how to keep your computer from overheating.

• Keep it clean
• Give it space
• Keep the room cool
• Signs of overheating