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3 minutes read

What Causes Electrical Fires?

Published by Electrical Connections

 

Here’s What You Should Know

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Electrical fires are one of the leading causes of fire damage in homes across the nation. These types of fires are often preventable, and you can protect your family with the team at Electrical Connections LLC. Learn more about electrical fires here and contact our team to get the protection you need.


What Causes An Electrical Fire?

Electrical fires can be caused by a wide range of items — all it takes is too much heat or an errant spark to get the fire started. Some of the leading factors to electrical fires include:

  • Outdated or worn-out wiring. This is especially common in homes 20+ years old.
  • Faulty outlets. Ungrounded outlets are more likely to spark, creating fires.
  • Circuit overloads. If too much power is plugged into a single outlet, it can overload the circuit and cause issues.
  • Old appliances. Old appliances are not up to modern safety standards and are more likely to cause electrical fires.
  • Light bulbs. Incompatible light bulbs or poorly insulated fixtures can increase fire risks.
  • Portable heaters. While space heaters may be nice, they have a reputation for starting fires.

How To Prevent An Electrical Fire

To avoid electrical fires from the sources above and more, you should always make sure that your home’s electrical system is up to code. By getting an electrical inspection regularly, you can get preventative care and repairs before the damage becomes serious. It is also important to have a fire extinguisher at hand should the situation arise when you need it. Having smoke detectors is also imperative for your home and can warn you of danger before it gets too serious.


Warning Signs

Always look out for warning signs to help you avoid damage before a fire starts. If you notice electronics with frayed, broken, or crimped wires, stop using them immediately until the wires are fixed or the item is replaced. Also, be on the lookout for when too much is plugged into an outlet. If you notice this, relocate some of the items whenever possible.


Call The Pros Before Disaster Strikes

Before you run into serious circumstances caused by electrical fires, get help from the team at Electrical Connections LLC. Our team will inspect your home for warning signs and upgrade your wiring where necessary. We can also give you customized advice to keep your home safe. Contact us to learn more!


Reach Out Today!

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Electrical Connection’s service was great. Josh, the technician who worked on our project, went above and beyond to make sure we were happy with the results and offered solid alternatives along the way. He was detail‑oriented and did a great job covering the holes in the drywall. As with any job like this, we’ll still need to finish and paint, but he patched everything up really well. This was a major project that included replacing a breaker panel and a few other smaller improvements. I’d definitely call them again when the time comes.

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Super easy to schedule and work with. We got recessed lights put into two rooms, and our electrician James was informative and helpful, being detailed and upfront throughout the job. He continued to be helpful through any questions we had. Definitely recommend!

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Highly recommend Electrical Connections and Josh T specifically. We had an issue with our gas water heater, and EC / Josh were a huge help in the midst of a chaotic couple of days trying to make decisions on repair/replace, and gas vs heat pump water heaters. EC was easy to get in touch with, got me connected quickly and scheduled with Josh, who arrived on time, did a thorough inspection, and gave me a no pressure set of options to consider. He was incredibly responsive as we worked through final plumbing quotes and was able to adjust his schedule with the dispatcher to do the electrical work the same day so we could get our water heater replaced ASAP. Josh went above and beyond and was professional and a pleasure to work with throughout the process. I can’t thank Josh and EC enough for helping make this experience less stressful for our family.

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Franklin was wonderful. He was so thorough and clearly walked us through the work and the issues he uncovered (including some possible fire hazards that we are SO thankful he resolved). He was also just very friendly and nice to have around! Whenever we need an electrician again, we will be happy to have him back.

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Kisan Jones is an excellent electrician. This is the second time I've interacted with him. He told me what he was going to do, he did what he said and explained it to me thoroughly before and after. Both times he was in teaching mode with an apprentice by his side. I hope it was a good experience for them because I learned a lot myself. Not only that, he saved me thousands of dollars as the "other" company was only trying to upsell me. He's respectful, personable and knows his business. The other staff was responsive, caring and alert to my concerns. I highly recommend this company.

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Peter Aurgaur and Jeremiah Castillo did a great job today replacing/upgrading my breaker panel. They worked very well together to efficiently perform all aspects of the job. I look forward to getting a successful inspection and then closing outage work when Pepco arrives to work with Peter to up date my meter and housing.