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An electrical short around a wall outlet in which a lamp was plugged caused a fire to a southwest Houston home yesterday, February 7, 2012. The Houston Fire Department was dispatched to the home in the 12400 block of Wellington Park Drive just after 3 p.m. and arrived on scene within three minutes. Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke and fire coming from the front windows and top of the front entry door. Firefighters forced entry into the home and tapped out the fire just before 3:30 p.m. The occupant was not home at the time of the fire and there were no reported injuries. Approximately 40 firefighters responded to the fire which caused about $32 thousand in damage.
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The second leading cause of structure fires in the City of Houston is due to electrical issues; this includes overloading electrical outlets, frayed wires and malfunctions. Most of these can be prevented by following some simple safety tips provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Safety tips from the NFPA
- Always have a working smoke detector.
- Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.
- Avoid running extension cords across doorways or under carpets.
- In homes with small children, make sure your home has tamper-resistant (TR) receptacles.
- Consider having additional circuits or outlets added by a qualified electrician so you do not have to use extension cords.
- Follow the manufacturer's instructions for plugging an appliance into a receptacle outlet.
- Avoid overloading outlets. Plug only one high-wattage appliance into each receptacle outlet at a time.
- If outlets or switches feel warm, frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuits, or flickering or dimming lights, call a qualified electrician.
- Place lamps on level surfaces, away from things that can burn and use bulbs that match the lamp's recommended wattage.
- Make sure your home has ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) in the kitchen bathroom(s), laundry, basement, and outdoor areas.
- Arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) should be installed in your home to protect electrical outlets.
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