The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates some 3,300 residential fires each year are caused by extension cords. While there are many things you can do to ensure holiday fire safety, focusing on how you utilize extension cords can be one major facet in your holiday fire safety master plan.
1. Damaged extension cords are a big issue when it comes to holiday fire safety. Extension cords that are frayed, worn or improperly repaired with electrical tape pose a great fire risk. Always replace damaged extension cords with new ones.
2. Never run extension cords underneath carpeting or other types of cloth items. If the electrical current that runs through the cord should find a way to get outside of the protective plastic coating it's housed in, these items could catch fire.
3. When it comes to holiday fire safety you should never run extension cords across areas where people walk. Not only could the cord be damaged, if someone should unfortunately trip over one that's connected to your Christmas tree, the tree could be pulled over onto a heat source candle, fireplace, etc.
4. Another holiday fire safety issue is plugs not being entirely, and snuggly, inserted into an extension cord. Sometimes the older extension cords don't accept the modern plugs correctly. As such, a gap may exist between the plug and the extension cord. If something that conducts electricity comes in contact with this area, an interruption in the electrical flow from the extension cord into the plug may occur. The electricity could then be channeled out of the extension cord and may catch something on fire in its path.
5. Another approach to holiday fire safety is to use, in conjunction with your extension cords, (or even in place of them) a power strip. You can plug multiple electrical cords into a power strip and reduce, or eliminate entirely, the need for extension cords. This is a great alternative to using multiple extension cords.
Basically these cords can be a hazard if used for extended periods of time. So use them only as a temporary solution.
1 comment:
Being that it is electrical safety month and electrical fire safety is so important, I want to share a new product that I came across. This product has never been made before, it's the first of it's kind,a fire-prevention outlet. What the fire safety product does is with it's thermal technology, it's able to sense abnormal temperatures in electrical wiring devices. Once the abnormal heat is detected, the outlet de-energizing the circuits involved, and is able to stop potential fires before they can start. Pretty neat product, I know I will be installing them in my home.
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