Incendiary devices have been set off at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland, Oregon, and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy."
The ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon both have fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots inside with a fire-suppressing powder.
For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.
fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point
For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots
I don't think it's an "unknown" reason; the system requires a fire to have already been lit in order to activate. It's fire a suppression system, not fire prevention.