Electricity – friend or foe?

In our daily lives, we constantly encounter electrical appliances. It is now impossible to imagine a home without a television, mobile phone, or computer. However, improper use of electrical appliances can lead to fires.

Fires can occur if the electrical wiring is faulty or if homeowners violate certain rules for using electricity. For example, when a large number of appliances are plugged into the mains, the wires overheat, which can lead to the ignition of insulation. Significant wire heating also occurs with poor contact, at the points where wires are joined together and connected to current consumers.

Incandescent light bulbs also pose a fire hazard. This is due to the high temperature of the glass bulb surface, which can reach +550°C. If an electric light fixture is wrapped in cotton cloth and plugged in, ignition can occur within 15 minutes. Therefore, it is forbidden to wrap or cover electric light fixtures with cloth or paper, or to make homemade lampshades from them. The danger of incandescent lamps also lies in the fact that when air enters the bulb, the filament burns out.

All electrical consumers must be protected from short circuits and overloads. This function is performed by fuses and circuit breakers, which are designed for a specific current strength. However, there are still many cases where homemade fuses (bundles of wire wrapped around a plug, commonly called "jumpers") are used instead of factory-made fusible inserts, and their cross-section is several times larger than required. In this case, the fuse, accordingly, ceases to perform its functions.

It should be remembered that wires must not be tied in knots, joined by twisting, glued with wallpaper, or passed through walls and partitions without additional insulation. To prevent damage to wire insulation, it is not permitted to paint or whitewash cords and wires, nail them, fasten them to heating systems, or use telephone or radio wires as current conductors. Electric heaters and other appliances must be connected to the mains only by means of plugs through socket connections. It is necessary to ensure that switches and sockets are always in proper working order.

Inspector of State Fire Supervision and State Fire Safety of Miory District Department for Emergency Situations O.M. Girzha