An electrical fire is a fire involving potentially energized electrical wiring, equipment, or devices. An alarming portion of all fires reported to Fire Departments in the U. S. are reported as electrical fires. Electrical fires are more destructive, deadlier, and far more difficult to extinguish than any other type or fire.
Let’s take a look at some of the statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
In 2013, there were 487,500 structure fires, causing 2,855 civilian deaths. This represents one structure being burned every 61 seconds and one human death every 3 hours and 4 minutes! Out of all these structure fires, 13% were electrical fires, and accounted for as much as 18% of associated deaths.
The data below shows the ignition sources for all electrical fires reported in the United States.
63% of all electrical fires are attributed to faulty wiring.
20% of all electrical fires are attributed to faulty light fixtures, and light bulbs.
11% of all electrical fires are attributes to faulty cords and plugs.
6% of all electrical fires are attributed to malfunction of transformers and power supplies.
This data clearly shows the importance of electrical inspections, maintenance, repairs, and replacements, especially when it comes to wiring. For obvious reasons, older houses tend to be the most vulnerable to fires, and the most costly to upkeep. Rewiring an entire home or business for example, could be a rather costly project; however, one should always keep safety in mind. While rewiring your entire home might be an unwanted and perhaps costly expense, in a long run, it could very well prevent numerous smaller repairs or even an electrical fire, which obviously would be more expensive to recover from.
