Safety Benefits

Quick Facts on…

Electrical Fires and Safety:

• Based on estimates by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are over;
  • 450 attended electrical fires every day
  • 155,000 electrical fires attended annually
  • $1.68 billion in property damage
  • 6,810 injuries
  • 800 deaths
    
    
• According to the CPSC, for the past 10 years faulty electrical wiring systems have been the leading cause of fire deaths involving electrical equipment. Of the half million fires (attended and unattended) there are a year, 13% alone are from electrical arcing.

• CPSC statistics indicate that 50% of all electrical fires (attended and unattended) were caused by flexible power cords – extension cords, surge strips, and appliance cords.

• Current statistics from the CPSC also estimate that about 3,300 residential fires originate in extension cords each year, killing 50 people and injuring about 270 others.  The most frequent causes of such fires are short circuits, overloading, damage, and/or misuse of extension cords. 

• Since the mid 1990's the CPSC has announced more than 25 recalls involving more than 2,000,000 faulty extension cords, power cords and surge protectors, some with counterfeit UL certification labels.

For links to additional Electrical Fire and Safety information see:

US Fire Administration

Consumer Product Safety Commission

National Fire Protection Association