When I hear about fires like this that occur on a houseboat in the middle of the night in fall, I presume it's due to an improperly connected/maintained shore power cable. Many people fail to check the connections for corrosion and to ensure that they are tight. Those connections get wet, and are constantly getting jostled around by wave action. The weather gets cold and people fire up the heaters on their houseboats for the first time of the season, put a huge amp draw on their shore power connection, and boom. I recently litigated a case involving this phenomenon.
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