Are Electrical Fires the Most Common Cause of Home Fire Disasters

An unintentional fire can erupt with terrifying randomness, spread ferociously in seconds, and destroy a home in moments. House fires threaten the lives of everybody in the house, and even controlled burns that are rapidly extinguished can cause expensive damage. While a property insurance policy comes in handy when dealing with financial losses, it is best to avoid the occurrence before it even begins.

According to statistics, over 30,000 occur in the United States every day, resulting in approximately $1.1 billion in property destruction and over 300 deaths. These electrical fires are usually more prominent during colder seasons, as people try to warm their houses using electric heaters. Other electrical fires occur due to wiring defects or device malfunctioning due to overloaded electrical extensions.

Although electrical defects mostly cause house fires, there are several other ways they can occur. They are typically divided into fires induced by combustible material heat ignition and those associated with chemical reactions. Residences are packed with items that, under the appropriate circumstances, can catch fire. Recognizing and mitigating these risks reduces the likelihood of a fire accident, keeping your family and property secure.

Common Causes of Electrical Fires

Electrical home fires can happen to anyone, but you can evade them if you are a bit more careful. If you want to avoid such a disaster, keep the following in consideration.

• Defective electrical outlets and out-of-date appliances. Keep any electrical appliance that is flawed or old far from your house. If an appliance’s wire is shabby or tattered, it can create dangerously high heat levels, sparking on surfaces such as rugs and drapes and causing a fire.

• Using Ungrounded Plugs. Because gadgets have a third prong, they should only be plugged in outlets built to manage the requirements of higher voltage appliances. Never ignore this because it can result in disasters.

• Overloading Sockets. If your home has few sockets and many appliances that need to be plugged in, don’t be tempted to overload your sockets. This might generate unnecessary heat, leading to an electrical fire.

• Putting Flammable Objects Close to Light Fixtures. Avoid placing items like clothes near lampshades at all costs as the material can heat up and ignite.

• Electric Heaters. Avoid positioning your heater near combustible surfaces. If possible, keep away from coil space heaters and normalize liquid-filled electric heaters as they are safer.

Other Causes of Home Fires

Although electrical fires are the most common in most residents, other causes can contribute to home fires. Knowing about these causes can help you prevent the risk of home fires and probably keep your loved ones safe.

• Cooking-related fires. Cooking fires are the most dominant house fires, accounting for approximately 49 percent of all home fires. Superheated greases are most on a cooker or in an oven. Grease is highly flammable when hot and can catch fire even when not close to an open flame. The moment it is ignited, it becomes extremely difficult to extinguish the flames caused by hot grease.

Portable cooking devices like toasters can also cause major house fires. Never leave these appliances unattended and ensure they are fantastic to touch before putting them away.

When dealing with a major fire, do not attempt to extinguish it yourself; instead, call the emergency services for assistance right away. Under no conditions should you pour water on grease fires because this can aggravate hot grease to blow up, splattering burning grease all over the place.

• Smoking. Cigarette smoke can seriously damage your life in a number of ways, including possibly starting fires in your home. While cigarettes and other smoking materials take full responsibility for only about 5% of residential fires, these are particularly lethal fires that have resulted in thousands of deaths. This is most likely due to the fact that fires usually start when residents fall asleep. Smoking in bed is particularly hazardous and should be avoided at all costs.