- Prevention and safety information to help Americans stay safe from fire.
- Fire prevention resources for America’s career and volunteer Fire Service.
- Coloring pages, puzzles and games that teach kids how to stay safe from fire.
Electrical Wiring and Appliances
Media stories can save lives! A news story about a residential fire provides a valuable opportunity to give your community a safety message during a teachable moment. Drop in these prevention tips and facts, and you just might save a life.
All U.S. homes should have working smoke alarms.
Fires can be prevented. A few easy steps can save your life!
- Choose appliances and extension cords that are listed by Underwriters Laboratories or other nationally-recognized testing laboratories.
- Insert plugs fully into sockets.
- Don't overload extension cords or wall sockets.
- Never force a three-prong cord into a two-slot outlet.
- Use only heavy-duty extension cords for freezers, heaters, and other high-wattage appliances.
- Never run cords under rugs or other items, and don't trap cords against walls where heat can build up.
- Check appliances and wiring often. Replace worn, old, or damaged appliance cords right away.
- Have an electrician check light switches that are hot, outlets that don't work, or lights that flicker.
- If an appliance sparks, smokes, overheats, or gives a small shock, throw it away.
Electrical Wiring and Appliance Fire Facts
- A fire caused by faulty electrical systems can destroy a home and everything in it within minutes.
- Each year in the United States, electrical problems cause 67,800 home fires and 485 deaths.
- December is the most dangerous month for electrical fires.
- Common causes of electrical fires are misuse and poor maintenance of appliances, bad wiring, and overloaded circuits and cords.
- Most electrical wiring fires start in the bedroom.
- In urban areas, faulty wiring causes 33% of home fires.
- Homes more than 40 years old are three times more likely than homes 11 to 20 years old to have an electrical fire.