Electrical Fires: 10 Ways to Prevent Electrical Fires At Home

Electrical fires occur in American homes with great regularity. According to the US Fire Administration:
• Over 28,300 residential electrical fires occur annually, causing nearly 350 deaths, 1,000 injuries and over $995 million in damage
• Fifteen percent of residential fires start in bedrooms
• Nearly half (47%) of the residential electrical fires where equipment was involved were caused by the building’s wiring
• Twenty-two percent of residential electrical fires occur in December and January. (Christmas lighting and decorations)
• Extension cord abuse accounts for a large percentage of losses

Electricity is like water. You’d have a hard time living without it, but it can also kill you if you abuse it. So, here are 10 tips on how to prevent electrical fires, prevent insurance claims, and save lives.

1. When you buy extension cords, only buy cords approved by Underwriters Laboratories. You will find the “UL Approved” label on the cord.
2. Be sure the extension cord’s capacity matches the appliance or device you plug into it.
3. Don’t use extension cords that are frayed or cracked or coiled up.
4. Don’t run extension cords under rugs or carpets.
5. Feel the extension cord while it’s in use. If it is warm or hot, replace it with a cord of greater capacity.
6. Don’t overload extension cords. The wattage of all devices plugged into the cord should not exceed its rated wattage. Usually the rated wattage is printed on the cord or attached by a tag.
7. Install light bulbs with wattages that are equal to or below any fixture’s maximum wattage. For example, a light fixture tag may say “do not exceed 75 watts.”
8. Dispose of or repair appliances or devices that blow fuses or trip circuit breakers.
9. Don’t leave a pan cooking on an electric stove unattended.
10. Homes built before the 1970s are more prone to electrical wiring fires. With the modern use of more powerful appliances and electronics, your system may require an upgrade. Call a licensed electrician for an evaluation. An upgrade may get you a discount on your homeowners insurance.

You can eliminate most electrical risks by following these ten tips.

Live better, live more safely!

Christmas Fire Safety: 14 Tips for Christmas Fire Safety

According to the United States Fire Administration (USFA), fires occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400 people each year, injure 1,650 more, and cause over $990 million in damage. By following these tips, you can be sure of a safe and happy holiday.

Holiday Decorations

• If you use an artificial Christmas tree, be sure it is flame retardant.

• Don’t use flammable decorations.

• Keep decorations away from heat vents and other heat sources.

• Don’t burn gift wrapping paper in the fireplace. Wrapping paper tends to burn hotly and fast, and can throw off sparks that could start a chimney fire.

Christmas Tree Care

A Christmas tree on fire can quickly fill a room with fire and deadly toxic gases. Take special precautions when you bring a live tree into your home.

• Picking a tree: Needles should be green and not easy to be pulled from the branches. The trunk of the tree should be sticky from sap. When you’re picking a tree, stand it upright and bounce the tree trunk on the ground. If needles fall off, it’s probably too dry to buy.

• Tree care: Never stand a tree near a heat source, like a heat vent or fireplace. Heat will dry out the tree and make it a fire hazard. Keep the tree stand filled with water. Don’t keep a Christmas tree in your home longer than about two weeks.

• Tree disposal: Don’t burn it in the woodstove or fireplace. Best to take it to a local recycling center, where they will run it through a wood chipper. You might even be able to scoop up some wood chips and take them home for landscaping.

Holiday Lights

• Before you install lights: check each strand of lights for cracked wires, frayed wires, broken light sockets or kinks in the wires. Lights are really cheap. When in doubt, throw out the old lights and buy new.

• No overloaded electrical outlets. Connect all your strings of lights to an extension cord, and then plug the extension cord into the electrical outlet. Come back a little later and check the lights. If you feel the cords or plugs and they are warm to the touch, unplug them and change outlets. Plugs and wires should never be warm.

• Don’t leave holiday lights unattended. I handled a claim for some people who placed those single electric candles in each window. It sure was beautiful...but one of the candles caught the drapes on fire and burned the house down. Hundreds of house fires happen each year from unattended decorative lights.


Candles

• There are few things as pretty as lit candles. But only use lit candles when you’re present to care for them.

• Make sure the candles are in candle holders that are stable, and not placed where they could easily be knocked over.

• Never use lit candles on a Christmas tree. Never.

• Never leave the house when candles are burning.

Finally, make sure you have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home. Test them once a month and keep them clean. Make sure they have fresh batteries at all times. Then, Have a Merry Christmas!

If you have experienced a property loss, whether fire, wind, flood or other, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to my website at: www.insurance-claim-secrets.com