Running it up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes: A response to Woodward on causal and explanatory asymmetries

Does smoke cause fire or does fire cause smoke? James Woodward’s “Flagpoles anyone? Causal and explanatory asymmetries” argues that various statistical independence relations not only help us to uncover the directions of causal and explanatory relations in our world, but also are the worldly basis of causal and explanatory directions. We raise questions about Woodward’s envisioned epistemology, but our primary focus is on his metaphysics. We argue that any alleged connection between statistical (in)dependence and causal/explanatory direction is contingent, at best. The directions of causal/explanatory relations in our world seem not to depend on the statistical (in)dependence relations in our world (conceived of either as frequency patterns or as relations among chances). Thus, we doubt that statistical (in)dependence relations are the worldly basis of causal and explanatory directions.

Analysis of the Power Cable Fire Case in Busan-JungKwan Energy

In this paper, the fire cause of blackout occurred in the Busan-JungKwan Energy as a Community Energy System (CES) was analyzed. Through analysis of the data such as burn patterns at the site, melted shape of cable head by the fire, overcurrent relay (OCR) of the control system, and event log, it was confirmed that first ground fault occurred at the termination connection of secondary cable of transformer. It was concluded because the void space of insulation and electrical melting trace conductor were investigated in the cable stress cone by detailed investigation and X-ray inspection for cable termination. In addition, as the damage by the tool on the vertical direction to the conductor was identified, it was presumed that the accident occurred by deterioration progress of insulation which was accelerated than that of the other parts.

Fire Cause Analysis in Religious Sites

Annually fires destroy many buildings, and among them are religious properties. This paper is related to the dynamics of fires on religious sites and to causes of fires in churches. The main dangers of fires in churches are large number of people, flammable structures, using furnaces for heating and the absence of the second emergency exit. The main causes of fires in churches arise from violations of the rules of installation and power grid, operation careless handling of fire. In order to prevent fires, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the Fire Safety Rules, to keep the electrical and furnace equipment in good working order, and to carry out their inspections and maintenance in a timely manner. Also the building should only be left after making sure that all ignition sources are eliminated.

Microscopic and Metallurgical Studies as a Function on Forensic Investigation of Electrical Fires

Electrical wires with melted ends showing beaded, drop-shaped, and pointed shapes are frequently encountered after fires that may provide useful information on the cause and development of the fire.Various methods have been studied for differentiating between primary arcing beads, (indicating arcing as the fire cause) and secondary arcing beads (indicating arcing as a result of the fire). There are few studies carried out on the melting globules produced due to fire heat. Also, in some major cases, primary arcing beads and secondary arcing beads are difficult to be identified by using one method. In this study, a full scheme of differentiating methods between simulated samples of melting globules, primary arcing beads and secondary arcing beads are processed with macroscopic investigation. The in-depth composition of carbon quantitative analysis and metallurgical analysis of these samples have been studied. The results of this study has proved that the real cases are compatible with simulated ones.