The only way I could see this happening is if the power supply shorted out
...maybe the fan dies and it overheats and THEN the  buildings electrical
system safety devices fail.....the breaker doesn't trip and the power
supply heats up to the point where the housing and then the metal PC case
becomes red hot  igniting nearby combustibles.

This is how most electrical fires start. .......breakers sit in the panel
for ten or twenty years never being used and when they are needed they
stick which is why it is a good idea to flip them off an on every few
years. However if your friend's colleague had plugged his PC into a 10
dollar GFI this may not have occurred as a GFI will shut down a fault to
ground in a nanosecond.

m

>A friend's colleague is investigating a fire which
>resulted in loss of life & property. The Fire Marshall
>determined that the fire started within a desktop
>computer but there is no "physical evidence" remaining
>of the computer to properly examine.
>
>Does anyone know of any incident where a computer's
>CPU, left running 24 hours a day, caused an overheating
>situation which caused "dust", etc. to ignite and cause a
>fire?
>
>

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