Something else to start a fire

["K Creason" <dmc4687@xxxx>]

I had a small fire in the relay compartment in the cab, caused by the front
fan fuse line going up in smoke.
In place of the original fan-fail module I had two orange wires with inline
fuses in heavy rubber housing. The wires for the module had been clipped,
the module base removed. The in-line fuses (blade style) were put in with
crimps and heat-shrink. It was a very nice job. I figure it was probably
done by the dealer (Crest Chevrolet in socal).
But why didn't the fuses blow? Why did they catch on fire?
Read on, gentle reader.
I called John Hervey; he's a good man. It didn't make sense that they would
smolder and actually burn without blowing first, or to do so after blowing.
So while I describing the layout of the situation to John, looking for
shorts on the "hot" side of the fuses, I think I figured out the problem.
The wires and fuses were laying on top-- across the back row of relays-- and
I believe that the little bit of fuse that shows across the top of the fuse
(for checking it's status) grounded against the metal pan of the
compartment.
This theory is supported, I think, by the fact that the bottom fuse appeared
to have been closer to the pan, was mostly consumed on the "hot" side of the
wire.

I've now cut out the old crimps and wire and placed new in, heat shrinked it
up nice and tight. It is now laying near vertical at the end of the
compartment instead of across the top. If you have a setup similar to mine--
you might want to double check it.

Now, unfortunately, I have some melted carpet and charred vinyl to clean up.
That wood cover-- that's a bad idea. It was very hot & smoking. I'm lucky
that didn't shoot up in flames. Hopefully it is covered in a fire retardant
paint?

Any ideas for cleaning up the smells, soot, and charred remains?

Thanks,
Kevin