NFPA Works to Support National Electrical Safety Month

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An electrician service technician can help you understand electrical safety. The right safety tips can protect you, your loved ones, and your property.

Did you know that May is the National Electrical Safety Month? While electrical safety may be a bit more widely discussed in May, it’s vital that you promote safety year-round. Each year, thousands of people are sent to the hospital owing to electrical accidents. Ultimately, hundreds die in the United States alone.

Further, electrical problems are a leading cause of house fires. In the United States, roughly 30,000 electrical fires break out per year. These fires cause over a billion dollars in damage and also hundreds of deaths.

Read through an electrical worker job description, and you’ll likely find a lot of talk about safety. With electrician practical experiences, ensuring safety is vital for protecting the electrician and their clients. Ultimately, safety is a vital part of everything an electrician needs to know

When finding electricians, you should find technicians who are experienced with your kind of work. If you live on a farm, it’s time to find a farm electrician. Live in the suburbs? You probably need a residential electrician.

What do I need to know about electricity? Or electrical service repair? Electrical fires can cause significant damage to your house and jeopardize the safety of your family. Each year, approximately 30,000 non-fatal electrical shock accidents are recorded. According to the National Safety Council, each year, between 500 and 1,000 individuals are killed by electrocution.
The good news is that electrical fires can frequently be avoided by regular electric maintenance repair or electrical system repair. Here are a few things you can do to prevent an electrical fire in your house, whether you are getting the help of a house wiring company or the nearest electrical company.

Look for loose-fitting plugs in electrical outlets, which can cause a shock or a fire hazard. If you have minor children, make sure any new plugs are covered.
Avoid connecting many appliances into a single outlet or circuit board as this may result in a short circuit as well as an electrical fire. When too many appliances are plugged into one source of power, the current level surpasses the threshold, posing a risk of harm.
It’s also important to spread awareness as an individual or as an organization.

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has declared May as National Electrical Safety Month, a motion that has garnered support from both local organizations and larger-scale groups such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Together, these organizations work to raise awareness of potential electrical hazards and the importance of proper electrical safety habits.

A new NFPA report reveals that between 2010 and 2014, there were almost 45,210 electrical home fires each year, which accounted for $1.4 billion in property damage. Fire safety experts say that a combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems in buildings could help reduce injuries and property damage by at least 50%, but electrical safety also plays an important role.

Approximately 57% of the electrical fires detailed in the NFPA report were the result of unsafe practices with wiring, outlets, and even lamps.

“Computers, kitchen appliances, fans and other equipment that use electricity have the potential to be involved in an electrical fire,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy told The Donaldsonville Chief.

In order to prevent electrical fires, officials from organizations across the country are dedicating their efforts toward safe electrical practices this month. In addition, officials warn that parents might not be taking enough precautions to ensure their children are safe.

A Temple University study found that in observing children ages two to four, a full 100% were able to remove a plastic outlet cap within 10 seconds. Now, researchers are urging parents to install tamper-resistant devices to fully protect children from electrical outlet hazards.

And that goes for other types of outlets as well. RJ45 ethernet plugs are only good for approximately 1,000 to 2,000 insertions. After that they can become loose or fray, making them a big hazard for children and pets.

The NFPA says that in order to prevent these situations, homeowners should have a licensed electrician perform all electrical work on their home, including inspections and new installations.

May isn’t over yet, which means the NFPA and other local organizations will be publishing more data and even organizing events to further raise awareness about safe electrical habits.

 

 

 

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