Avoiding fire due to “faulty electrical wiring”
Its fire prevention month! Most fire that are being reported on TV are caused by “faulty electrical wiring” and most of us think that it is the wiring of the house. Faulty electrical wiring is a general term used by the fireman. This is a general term used when the cause of the fire is electrical but not limited to the house electrical wiring. Sounds confusing? Let’s dig in deeper.
There are several ways that a fire can start due to electrical issues and most of them are from home appliance and gadgets. Here are a list of common electrical fire sources:
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Extension cables
Electrical outlets have maximum load capacity and using an extension can lead to overload. In electrical wiring, overloading means heating of wire which will eventually cause fire. Take note also that those cheap extension wires uses very thin and cheap wires that has lower current capacity which can overload very easily. In some cases, extension wires are just fine provided you comply with the following:- Don’t use cheap extension wire, they have no protection against overloading and fire.
- Make sure all plugs are inserted very well on the socket. Don’t use the socket that is loose. The contacts of the loose socket can heat up and can cause fire.
- Don’t plug high power appliances on the extension wire such as rice cooker, electric iron and hair blower. Those appliances demands high current and may overload the extension wire.
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Counterfeit chargers
Original chargers are expensive but they are expensive not just because of the brand it has. They are expensive because they have safety feature that can’t be found on those cheap counterfeit chargers. -
Loose electrical outlet
Loose electrical outlet may be the common cause of fire. This is common on household especially those cheap outlets. Loose contacts of the outlet can heat up especially if you are using a high power appliances such as electric iron and rice cooker.
