05/07/2024
Consumers can reduce chances of a home electrical fire by making informal inspections of their homes to eliminate commonplace hazards that often lead to household electric fires.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are some 192,500 home fires of electrical origin each year, which claim an estimated 1,000 lives and cause some 10,700 injuries. Annual property damage from these fires is estimated at $1.1 billion. Electrocutions kill an estimated 500 more Americans in and around the home each year.
May has been designated Electrical Safety Awareness Month and CPSC is encouraging consumers to eliminate the common electrical hazards in the house. For this purpose, CPSC has developed an electrical safety checklist telling consumers how to conduct a room-by-room inspection and how to reduce the hazards.
The major sources of all household electrical fires, as identified by CPSC, are ranges and ovens, household wiring, clothes dryers, appliance and extension cords and plugs, receptacle outlets, central and fixed heating equipment, and electric lamps and fixtures.
Products most often associated with fatal electrical fires were household wiring, appliance and extension cords, ranges and ovens, and portable heaters. Electrocution most often involved household wiring, electric power tools, ladders and antennas.
CPSC said several precautions should be taken by consumers to reduce electrocution hazards around the house.
Noting that many electrocutions and major electric shock burn injuries are caused by products which previously shocked someone in the home, the agency said that any electrical product which gives the slightest shock should be removed from use and immediately taken to an electrical repair or appliance shop for inspection. Only after the fault has been corrected and the hazard eliminated should the product be used again.
CPSC said installation of ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) in circuit-breaker panel boxes or duplex electrical outlets offer the best protection against electrocutions and shock injuries in the home. The National Electrical Code calls for the installation of GFCIs in bathrooms, garages and outdoor circuits of newly constructed homes. However, older homes and some newer homes lack this protection. CPSC also recommends GFCI protection for kitchen countertop circuits and basement outlets.
CPSC said all homes could be equipped with GFCIs to protect consumers against electrocution and burns. GFCIs are available for installation in circuit-breaker panel boxes and duplex wall outlets. They are also available as portable units to be used with electric tools or other equipment, and in the form of attachment plugs.
