Electrical Safety: Time to Unplug
Experts discuss ways to protect homes from electrical disasters
MARYLAND – Every day we use electricity – getting ready in the mornings, in the kitchen, our personal devices. But how much is too much?
Home electrical fires account for an estimated 51,000 fires each year. More than 1,400 people are injured, there are more than 500 deaths, and approximately $1.3. billion in property damage. May is Electrical Safety Month, and experts are giving us tips on how to prevent electrical disasters.
Mcintyre Electric Service, Inc. owner John Mcintyre, tells us that multi-power strips are one of many causes of electrical fires. “Be cognizant of what you’re plugging in… If you have a cord plugged in and it’s frayed, and it shorts out. Pets, pets are a good one for chewing into electrical cords and things of that nature that could cause issues. Furniture crushing electrical cords, things of that nature.”
Ocean City Firefighter, Ryan Whittington, agrees that in the workplace and at home electrical fires can be a result of old wiring and overloaded circuits. “Faulty appliances or improper use of electric devices can pose a risk for a house fire… Connecting multiple high-energy appliances, even daisy-chaining some of them together or multiple strips together can overload the circuit.”
Mcintyre says older homes may have fixtures that need to be upgraded and cautions all homeowners to check outlets in and around the home. “If it’s not holding when you plug it in and it feels like it wants to fall out, it’s time to change that outlet… If you have a breaker tripping in your panel, maybe it’s just not the breaker, maybe it’s an actual problem if you keep resetting it.”
Whittington says to regularly check cords for damage, and Mcintyre says you can take a step further to ensure electrical disasters don’t happen to you. “Having an electrician do a check once a year, just go through your panel box and check that and make sure all your connections are tight there. Have an electrician if he has a thermal imager check your outlets.”
Lithium batteries in gadgets like hover boards, have been known to catch fire and cause a lot of damage. Mcintyre says thermal runaway is when the device overheats from the inside causing a combustion. “It overheats from the inside and goes into a runoff of flame, and you can’t stop it…. These batteries will catch fire and cause a lot of damage. Plugging them in inside and charging them in your house is never a good idea to do. Plugging them into the garage or outside its best.” Whittington also speaks on instruments with lithium batteries, “Charging one of the lithium-ion batteries on a bed or mattress is not a good idea… never put these batteries on something combustible.”
Whittington warns us to never use water to extinguish an electrical fire, as water conducts electricity. Mcintyre says if your able, get to the breaker shut the whole panel down and be sure to use a fire extinguisher. Most importantly, make sure you have a working smoking detector, smoke detectors save lives. He tells us that all families should have an escape plan, get out fast, and call the fire department.
