Electrical fires; large and small

[Audio Flynn]

Aside form the audio obesessive compulsive disorder, electrical systems in houses and the subsystems plugged into them are at times life threatrening.

My best friends 3300 sq ft new constrution home 6 years old bruned to the ground in 15 minutes 3 years ago this month due to poor wiring. In my recent remodleiong effort we found a junction box hidden in the cieling that caught fire about 5 years ago when a circuit went dead. If the junction box was not covered properly the house had a good chance of catching fire.

My recent subjective perspective is if the house wiring is over 40 years old get it updated as strictly a safety issue. Old appliances are a hazzard as well. One article I read a few years back identified toasters as the appliance most likely to cause a house fire, a business aquantance of mine lost his house to toaster fire while at church on Sunday AM. I unplug mine from the wall after every use.

[mas]

Some very good points!

I think that maybe you picked up on the common slang term for TVs in the insurance, code and fire departments!

The irony is that TVs are referred to as "toasters" by many in insurance, code enforcement and in the fire departments. They are always on - yep, 'instant on' devices are always powered, and any short results in a potential fire.

A simple safeguard for any 'always on' electrical device is to place them on a switched strip with a circuit breaker. And if you are so inclined, turn the strip off if you can tolerate the few extra seconds of warm up before watching Okra and save a bit on your electricity bill as well.

Here is the link to a page on the subject that you may find very interesting!

http://www.allianz.com/en/allianz_group/press_center/news/news_to_use/news_to_use/news23.html

I used to have a statistical breakdown of the causes of domestic fires here someplace. If I find it I will post it or its link...

[JJkizak]

Use this formula: Pay big money to qualified bigtime contractor to rewire house and do not question the amount of money or procedures. They have the code book memorized and do these jobs in their sleep. Then you can plug in anything you want to overload your system and be happy and content that nothing will burn down.

JJK

[Piranha]

After my divorce it was necessary for me to downsize. I bought a 1921 CA bungalow (which amounts to a 900 sq. ft. shoebox). I immediately upgraded the electrical service and wiring from the original knob and tube and screw in fuse block. I have seen too many homes go up in flames due to faulty wiring and it's not a pretty site. It may have never been a problem, but that wasn't a chance I was willing to take.

[@silverfox@]

Verygood point , although i might suggest that a perodic inspection every10 years could prevent some of these situation,

though
it also opens the pockets of those who can least afford to
" how much insurance can the regular joe afford "?.

its one of the most feared utility we use , and ironically one of the safest due to its strindgent code. []

[Islander]

Use this formula: Pay big money to qualified bigtime contractor to rewire house and do not question the amount of money or procedures. They have the code book memorized and do these jobs in their sleep. Then you can plug in anything you want to overload your system and be happy and content that nothing will burn down.

JJK

Scary advice! Just because your wiring system conforms to code doesn't mean you can throw common sense out the window. If you overload a circuit, the breakers or GFCIs should protect you, but they can fail, just like anything else.

The reason it's important to have updated, code-conforming wiring, is that it shouldn't catch fire if you use it properly. Even apparently proper use of old and outdated wiring can be hazardous, which is why my insurance company insisted on my upgrading from 60-amp service in my old rental house (with 3 kitchens and stoves, that ain't proper use!) to at least 100 amps. Just to be safe, I had a 200-amp service and new breaker panel installed.