Electrical fires in our homes claim the lives of 310 Americans each year and injure 1,100 more. Some of these fires are caused by electrical system failures, but many more are caused by incorrectly installed wiring and overloaded circuits and extension cords.

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) would like consumers to know that there are simple steps you can take to prevent the loss of life and property resulting from electrical fires.

The Problem

During a typical year, home electrical problems account for 28,600 fires and $1.1 billion in property losses. 53% of residential electrical fires involve electrical wiring.

December and January are the most dangerous months for electrical fires. Fire deaths are highest in winter months which call for more indoor activities and increases in lighting, heating, and appliance use. The bedroom is the leading area of fire origin for residential building electrical fires. However, electrical fires that begin in the living room/family room/den areas result in the most deaths.

The Cause

• Most electrical distribution fires result from problems with “fixed wiring” such as faulty electrical outlets and old wiring. Problems with cords (such as extension and appliance cords), plugs, receptacles, and switches also cause many home electrical fires.

• Light fixtures and lamps/light bulbs are also leading causes of electrical fires.

• Many avoidable electrical fires can be traced to misuse of electric cords, such as overloading circuits, poor maintenance, and running the cords under rugs or in high traffic areas.

Safety Precautions

• Routinely check your electrical appliances and wiring.

• Frayed wires can cause fires. Replace all worn, old or damaged appliance cords immediately.

• Replace any electrical tool if it causes even small electrical shocks, overheats, shorts out, or gives off smoke or sparks.

• Keep electrical appliances away from wet floors and counters; pay special care to electrical appliances in the bathroom and kitchen.

• Buy electrical products evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

• Keep clothes, curtains, and other potentially combustible items at least three feet from all heaters.

• If an appliance has a three-prong plug, use it only in a three-slot outlet. Never force it to fit into a two-slot outlet or extension cord.

• Don’t allow children to play with or around electrical appliances like space heaters, irons, and hair dryers.

• Use safety closures to “child-proof” electrical outlets.

• Use electrical extension cords wisely; never overload extension cords or wall sockets.

• Immediately shut off, then professionally replace, light switches that are hot to the touch and lights that flicker.

Finally, having a working smoke alarm dramatically increases your chances of surviving a fire. And remember to practice a home escape plan frequently with your family.

Electricity has become such a necessary part of our lives that we tend to take it for granted, but using it safely is vitally important. Thousands of people in the United States are critically injured and electrocuted as a result of electrical fires and accidents in their own homes each year.

An average of 51,000 electrical home structure fires occur each year, claiming almost 500 lives, injuring more than 1,400 people, and causing more than $1.3 billion in property damage (National Fire Protection Association, 2003-2007). In addition, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that nearly 400 people are electrocuted in the U.S. each year.

Many electrocutions and home fires can be prevented simply by understanding basic electrical safety principles and adhering to safe practices. ESFI has developed a number of resources to help educate homeowners and consumers.

ESFI reminds you that the best way to protect your family and your home against the risk of electrical fires or electrocution is to hire a qualified, licensed electrician to perform any electrical work in your home.

The ESFI has provided a booklet outlining how to identify electrical hazards in your home. You can download it here.

Summertime increases the demand for electricity and raises the risk of fire in homes with older or damaged wiring systems. Air conditioning equipment, electric grills, and attic fans are some of the seasonal appliances that can place added stress and strain on a home’s electrical wiring and cause a potentially tragic fire.

Since electricity is uniquely unforgiving and can cause serious injuries or death, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Electrical Safety Foundation International are joining together to encourage consumers to protect their homes from electrical problems.

Between 1994 and 1998, the CPSC estimates that there were over 360,000 residential fires each year, of which over 123,000 were related to electrical distribution or appliances and equipment, and another 15,000 were related to heating and air conditioning systems. These electrical fires caused an estimated average of 910 deaths, nearly 7,000 injuries and nearly $1.7 billion in property damage each year. Many of these incidents could have been prevented by having an electrical inspection of the house to find hidden hazards.

This summer, CPSC and ESFI are encouraging homeowners to: 1) have an electrical inspection conducted for homes 40 years and older, for homes 10 years and older with major renovations or new appliances added, or that have been resold; 2) learn the potential hazards posed by aluminum wiring systems and contact CPSC if your home is among the two million built with aluminum wiring between the late 1960s and early 1970s; and 3) consider installing arc fault circuit interrupters in place of ordinary circuit breakers, especially if your home is over 40 years old. AFCIs are new technology designed to prevent electrical fires by sensing unseen electrical arcing. AFCIs are particularly important where wiring may have degraded with age.

“The Commission has been working to prevent electrical fires for decades. We are currently working with other federal agencies and safety organizations on a major research project involving aged electrical wiring,” said CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton. “Our best advice for homeowners is to hire a licensed electrical inspector or electrician to identify and correct hidden electrical hazards before they become tragedies.”

“Most of us are unaware of how dangerous electricity can truly be within our homes,” said Michael G. Clendenin, ESFI executive director. “As summer begins, ESFI’s goal is to inform consumers of common household electrical hazards and empower them to protect their families and homes. We hope homeowners will come to regard electrical safety as an essential part of routine home maintenance.”

It is important for homeowners to understand the severity of an electrical wiring fire, as it often begins behind a wall, in a basement or in the attic where the fire can spread throughout the home before setting off the smoke alarm or becoming evident to occupants. This reduces the amount of time available to escape a burning building.

Below are additional safety tips to help homeowners create the safest home possible:

• Make sure smoke alarms are installed on every floor outside sleeping areas and in every bedroom, and are in good working order.

• Look for telltale signs of electrical problems such as dimming of lights, frequent circuit breaker trips or blown fuses.

• Ask a qualified electrician if your home would benefit from AFCI protection, especially during inspections of older homes or upgrades to electrical systems.

• Limit the use of extension cords, particularly cords used to power room air conditioners.

• Use light bulbs that are the proper wattage for the fixture - higher wattage bulbs can degrade the wires in and around the fixture.

Founded in 1994, ESFI, formerly the National Electrical Safety Foundation, is the nation’s only non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety in the home, school and workplace. A registered 501(c)(3) organization funded by the nation’s top electrical manufacturers, independent testing laboratories, electrical unions and associations, utilities and consumer groups, ESFI sponsors National Electrical Safety Month each May, and engages in public education campaigns and proactive media relations to help reduce property damage, injury and death due to electrical accidents. For more information and safety tips, please visit: www.electrical-safety.org.

TODAY’S DEMANDS CAN STRESS THE WIRING IN MANY HOMES. FEW PEOPLE KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS.

When you plugged in your new refrigerator, cranked up the air conditioner, or turned on the light to read this report, you probably didn’t give a lot of thought to the wires carrying the electricity.

Few people do. After all, your home’s electrical system is hidden in the walls. Homeowners and renters generally know so little about electricity that they tend to take potential problems too lightly or overlook them altogether.

But you need to pay attention to your home wiring no matter when your home was built or where you live, especially if you live in an older home. Thirty-nine thousand house fires and 350 deaths each year in the U.S. are caused by faulty home wiring and other electrical equipment, such as extension cords, lighting, and plugs, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

And at a time when many homes are increasingly susceptible to electrical problems, government oversight that’s supposed to protect homeowners and renters is often fragmented and ineffective, Consumer Reports has found. Consider this:

• The nation’s housing supply is aging. One-third of all homes–30 million–are more than 50 years old; half are at least 30 years old. Older homes often fall short of today’s electrical-safety standards.

• Older homes in particular were not designed to handle rising electrical demand. Appliances may be more energy efficient than in the past, but they’re bigger and we’re using a lot more of them, which chronically stresses many homes’ electrical systems.

• New electrical work in homes is supposed to be safeguarded by a system of licensing, permitting, and inspection by local officials. But homeowners often bypass that route because it takes more time and money. And governments are cutting staff and budgets for that critical oversight, or not paying for it to begin with.

• Problems with existing electrical systems–worn-out equipment and jerry-built “fixes” by successive owners of a home or an apartment building–may never be discovered. Localities typically don’t require an electrical inspection when a property changes hands.

Debbi Porterfield thought her family was doing everything right when they bought their house in Rye, N.Y., which was built in 1875. Though the village didn’t require inspections before or after the sale, Porterfield hired a home inspector whom the real-estate agent recommended. The inspector noted mostly minor problems.

So Porterfield, 44, a freelance writer, was concerned when a more thorough inspection by a licensed electrical contractor hired byConsumer Reports turned up some dangerous conditions. Burned wire insulation in a bathroom ceiling light, probably caused by a bulb with wattage too high for the fixture, could have started a fire near the children’s bedrooms. In the garage, a hanging light with frayed insulation posed a threat of electrocution or fire.

“I was a little bit stunned by what the inspector showed me,” Porterfield said of the electrical contractor.

Overall, the number of reported house fires has declined for two decades, thanks in part to smoke alarms that provide early warning. (See our tests of Smoke alarms.) But fires caused by faulty electrical systems–bad wiring or components damaged by age, misuse, or poor alterations–still worry fire officials. An 18-agency federal task force has called aging wiring in homes, buildings, power plants, and transportation systems an important national safety issue.

“Fifty-million homes are approaching the end of life of their wiring systems,” says William King, a chief engineer at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). “It’s an urgent problem.”

Now federal officials and safety groups are trying to get the word out that frequently blown fuses, hot or dead outlets, and other problems aren’t just nuisances; they are serious warning signs of electrical hazards that can result in disaster if not addressed. Experts are also emphasizing that home wiring needs to be maintained, upgraded when necessary, and periodically inspected by a qualified, licensed electrician.

How do you take stock of your home? What hazards should you look for? How do you choose an electrician? Read on.

Given the nation’s housing stock, it’s not hard to see why so many homes have electrical-wiring problems today.

In the oldest homes–those, like Porterfield’s, that are a century old or more–electricity was a retrofit, installed mainly for lighting, sometimes through former gas-lighting pipes or porcelain tubes. Typically, these houses were wired at 30 amps–enough to power basic lighting and some kitchen appliances, but not much else.

By the late 1940s, 60-amp service was common–better, but still short of the 150- to 200-amp service typical of new construction. (In the biggest new homes, 800-amp and up isn’t uncommon.)

Old wiring, by itself, doesn’t necessarily mean trouble. But you have to be careful that the insulation protecting the wiring is in good shape. Insulation can become damaged when it is rubbed or pierced, or even when a circuit is heavily loaded. When that happens, the wires get hot and, over time, the insulation can crack or fray.

Often, older homes are not grounded to minimize the risk of shocks, and they typically have too few outlets for today’s demands–sometimes as few as one per room–which can lead to a dangerous reliance on extension cords. By contrast, contemporary codes typically require a wall outlet at least every 12 feet.

Beginning in the 1950s, wires were insulated with tougher thermal plastic instead of fabric or rubber; three-prong grounded outlets replaced two-prong ones; and circuit-breaker panels replaced fuse boxes. Both circuit breakers and fuses are designed to shut off power to their circuits if more current flows through circuits than they should carry. Experts consider circuit breakers more convenient and safer because they’re more tamper-resistant.

When fuses blow, circuit breakers repeatedly trip, or lights often dim, it’s a sign that there is a problem with the wiring or that you are overstressing the circuit and may need a new one or a service upgrade. Yet homeowners have been known to make quick, often illegal fixes, such as using fuses that are overrated for the circuit they’re protecting (20-amp fuses on a 15-amp circuit, for example). Overrated fuses don’t protect circuit wiring from overheating because they allow more current through the wiring than the wiring was designed for.

Electrical fires can occur from a phenomenon called arcing, in which current “jumps” through a tiny gap of air, such as between two ends of a broken wire or at a loose connection to a receptacle. Arcs are extremely hot and can heat nearby material, such as wood or some types of insulation, which can smolder for hours before bursting into flames.

Other electrical fires can be caused by overheated components such as switches that ignite other material.

Another potential problem affects some homes built between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. Builders of about 2 million homes at that time substituted less expensive aluminum wiring for standard copper wiring in the branch circuits, which are the wires that distribute electricity to each room from the service panel. But the aluminum branch-circuit wiring was later found to oxidize and loosen at connections, causing arcs and overheating at switches, outlets, and the breaker panel.

In 1977, the CPSC unsuccessfully sued to get aluminum branch-circuit wiring recalled. The commission ended up warning homeowners about the need for repairs through a public-information campaign. But tens of thousands of home electrical systems never were repaired and still run the risk of fires, federal officials say.

The risks are real. Aluminum house wiring played a role in a fire that killed five people in Morris County, N.J., in March. Fire officials said the home, built in 1968, had aluminum branch circuits that someone had improperly repaired. (For more on this issue, check CPSC publication 516 at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/516.pdf.)

Homeowners who do their own electrical work or hire an unqualified friend can create some of the worst hazards. Since these homeowners often avoid inspection by skipping the building-permit process, the hazards can go unnoticed for years.

“Ignorant, amateur wiring is the most common, real dangerous thing that I see,” says David E. Shapiro, a Washington, D.C.-area master electrician who has written extensively about wiring hazards. Those include thin-gauge lamp wire run behind walls to bring electricity to another room, mismatched-gauge wire, and badly spliced wires, Shapiro and other electricians say.

Even in new homes, homeowners should be mindful of potential problems. Just ask Tom Meenan of Silver Spring, Md., who discovered a burned cable, dead circuits, and other problems in the $325,000 townhouse he bought new two years ago.

“I rarely used the dishwasher, and the third or fourth time I ran it the circuit went dead,” says Meenan, 45, an information technology manager for the U.S. Senate. “There was severe arcing in the breaker panel.” Meenan hired an electrical inspector, who found other problems, including a poorly wired electric furnace. He says he is still negotiating with the builder for repairs.

What Should You Do

If you are experiencing flickering lights, hot outlets, or other warning signs, disconnect appliances on overworked circuits. Then hire a qualified, licensed electrician to inspect your home and make repairs. To find an electrician, seek recommendations from satisfied neighbors. If your state requires licensing, check the electrician’s license number with the appropriate state or county agency and contact the local Better Business Bureau about any previous complaints. When you hire the electrician, obtain an estimate in advance, and ask the electrician to list priorities and specify costs.

You should have an electrical inspection when you buy a house. The Electrical Inspection Code for Existing Dwellings (NFPA 73), intended for use by general home inspectors and electricians, can be a good resource for homeowners. It’s $21 from the National Fire Protection Association (800 344-3555, or 617 770-3000 outside the U.S.; www.nfpacatalog.org.)

Other resources are the CPSC’s free guide to home electrical hazards, at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/518.pdf, and a safety checklist from the National Electrical Safety Foundation, atwww.nesf.org.

The CPSC recommends home inspections every 20 years. That’s 20 years from the time the home was last inspected, not 20 years after you moved in. If you’ve added high-wattage appliances or renovated, you should consider an inspection sooner.

Most local governments require that you obtain a permit before having major electrical work done and that the work be approved by a qualified electrical inspector. But even without such a requirement, you should have the work inspected upon completion. If your area doesn’t have city or county inspectors, your local fire department or building department may be able to help you find one. So can the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, in Richardson, Texas, at 972 235-1455.

A promising new technology you may want to consider is the arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI), which detects arcs at low levels of current that wouldn’t trip a circuit breaker. An electrician installs these devices in your circuit-breaker panel. They’re not a substitute for replacing bad wiring, but they do offer added protection for older wiring.

The CPSC wanted the newest national electrical code to require installation of those circuit interrupters during any upgrade of a service box, King, the commission’s chief engineer, says. But the proposal was defeated by other members of the code-making panel. “We don’t feel the research is there” to justify the cost, says Jeff Inks, a member representing the National Association of Home Builders.

The national electrical code will require the circuit interrupters in all bedroom circuits of new homes beginning Jan. 1, 2002.

What the Government Needs to do

Not all states adopt the latest national electrical code, however. And across the nation, licensing, permitting, and inspection requirements are patchwork and, in some cases, nonexistent.

A decade ago, a CPSC study noted that “training or qualification of electrical workers is not regulated or enforced” in many jurisdictions and that “many districts outside major metropolitan areas effectively have no electrical inspection.”

Since then, there’s been even less government enforcement of licensing and inspection, because of rapid growth in some areas and budget cuts in others.

Several years ago, the CPSC tried in vain to promote mandatory electrical inspections at the time a property is sold. “We were met with less than a lot of success,” King says. “Nobody wants additional burdens.”

So the commission focused instead on public education and promotion of new technologies, such as AFCIs, in new construction, King says. But new-construction codes won’t prevent fires in the millions of older homes that may be at risk.

Safety groups have been pushing local lawmakers to improve the inspection process for new and older homes. Until more state and local governments get serious about home wiring, electrical fires will continue to claim lives and property.

To help home owners prevent fires from electrical wiring systems, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is promoting guidelines that help pinpoint fire hazards in older homes — the most vulnerable to electrical wiring fires. CPSC is also rewiring four older homes in different parts of the country to test low-cost ways of making old electrical systems safer.

National fire statistics show that more than 40,000 fires are caused each year by problems with home electrical wiring. For the past 10 years, electrical wiring systems have been the leading cause of fire deaths involving electrical equipment, claiming an average of nearly 350 lives each year. These deaths and fires cost society over $2 billion annually.

“As the federal agency that helps keep people safe in and around their homes, CPSC is finding common sense, affordable solutions to home-wiring hazards,” CPSC Chairman Ann Brown said. “This project provides consumers information on the best, least expensive methods of doing something about them.”

In an effort to reduce the number of home electrical wiring system fires and save lives, CPSC has identified common home electrical wiring system hazards:

• Many people are not aware that wiring system components can wear out over time, presenting a fire hazard.
• The wiring systems in many older homes can have difficulty handling the increasing demands being placed on them by modern appliances like microwave ovens, toaster ovens, hair dryers, electric heaters, and others.
• When electrical components age or are overloaded, the system can overheat and wear out insulation. This can lead to arcs and short circuits, which are the main causes of home electrical wiring fires.

To demonstrate low-cost solutions to these hazards, CPSC is rewiring homes in Capitol Heights, Md., Atlanta, Ga., Redlands, Calif., and St. Louis, Mo.

One of the greatest obstacles to determining whether older homes are safe is the lack of a current, widely accepted code against which the safety of older electrical wiring systems can be judged. CPSC’s Home Electrical System Fires Project could help communities prevent fires and improve safety by raising their awareness of a new electrical code, which was developed by the National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA). The code describes approximately 50 dangerous residential wiring conditions which can be identified by a visual inspection by a qualified inspector.

CPSC’s Home Electrical System Fires Project involves a broad coalition of public and private organizations, including fire prevention officials, the insurance industry, and the National Electrical Safety Foundations, which will identify solutions to the home wiring problems that contribute to electrical fires.

For more information on CPSC’s Home Electrical System Fires Project and free brochures on home wiring hazards, consumers should send a postcard to: Home Wiring Safety, CPSC, Washington, D.C. 20207.

For a fee, the NFPA electrical code can be obtained by calling NFPA at (800) 344-3555.

In observance of Electrical Safety Month held each May, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released its Guide to Home Wiring Hazards, a 35-page booklet written to help consumer find electrical dangers in their homes before they cause fires or electrical shock.

The illustrated booklet provides guidance for pinpointing the location of problems within your electrical system before you seek professional assistance. It can also help avoid potential problems.

CPSC developed the publication after conducting hundreds of investigations of home fires and electric shock incidents. CPSC Chairman Jacqueline Jones-Smith cautioned, “This is not an instruction manual for repairing defective electrical systems. Finding specific defects in electrical systems and repairing them are jobs for qualified electrical professionals.”

The CPSC has provided a booklet outlining how to identify electrical hazards in your home. You can download it here.

Many of the nation’s 160,000 electrical home fires each year could be prevented if consumers took time to correct commonplace electrical hazards around the house.

Noting that May marks the seventh annual observance of National Electrical Safety Month, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the annual toll includes some 900 deaths, an estimated 6,200 injuries, and property losses of some $935 million. In addition, some 300 Americans are electrocuted in or around their homes each year while an estimated 9,100 consumers require hospital emergency room treatment for electric shock or electrical burn injuries.

Most fires associated with electric products in the home involved electric ranges and ovens, CPSC said, followed by household wiring, clothes dryers, appliance and extension cords, light fixtures, receptacle outlets, central and fixed heating equipment, and portable electrical heaters.

Electrical products most often contributing to deaths in home fires were household wiring, appliance and extension cords, ranges and ovens, and portable electric heaters. Electrocutions most often were associated with wiring, power tools, metal ladders and antennas contacting power lines, and large appliances.

Examining ways of preventing residential fires, CPSC has developed a 12-page, room-by-room checklist to help consumers identify and correct electrical hazards around the house.

Homeowners may obtain a free copy of the home electrical checklist in English or Spanish by sending a postcard to Electrical Safety, Washington, D.C., 20207. The Commission also offers a slow-play disc of the checklist for blind consumers.

With over 450 electrical house fires happening every day, government safety experts are urging consumers to inspect their homes and apartments for electrical hazards which could trigger another house fire.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission which is sponsoring the May observance of National Electrical Safety Month, there are an estimated 169,000 house fires of electrical origin each year, claiming 1,100 lives and injuring 5,600. Property losses are estimated at $1.1 billion a year.

In non-fire related accidents, CPSC estimates that 340 Americans are electrocuted each year in accidents involving consumer products while an estimated 7,700 consumers require hospital emergency room treatment for electrical shock or electrical burn injuries.

Among the commonplace electrical hazards frequently overlooked in the home are the following:

• Burying electrical cords under rugs and carpets. In such cases, move the lamp or electrical product closer to a receptacle so that the cord is out from under carpets and away from foot traffic.
• Using extension cords on a permanent basis. Extension cords should only be used temporarily. Rearrange lights, etc., so that extension cords aren’t needed, or have new electrical outlets installed to eliminate the need for extension cords.
• Frayed, stiff or cracked electrical cords. Such cords pose electrical and fire hazards. Check cords now to make sure they don’t pose hazards.
• Warm or hot cover plates over electrical outlets. These conditions often indicate an unsafe wiring condition, in which case an electrician should be called in to inspect the wiring.
• Flickering lights. A number of problems cause lights to flicker, most often related to faulty wiring of the receptacle, the wall switch or the electrical product itself.
• An electrical product that shocks you. Stop using the product at once and have it inspected and repaired by an electrical repair shop. Continued use of the product could result in an electrocution.

CPSC has developed an electrical safety checklist to help homeowners locate and correct common electrical hazards around the home which often cause shocks and fires. The checklist guides consumers on a room-by-room inspection to pinpoint electrical hazards.

Consumers may obtain a free copy of the home electrical safety checklist in English or Spanish by sending a postcard to Electrical Safety, Washington, D.C. 20207.