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 connected to 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's surface, which can reach +550°C. If an electric light fixture is wrapped in cotton cloth and connected to the mains, ignition can occur within 15 minutes. Therefore, it is forbidden to wrap or cover electric light fixtures with fabric or paper, and also 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 wound on 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 cannot 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, attach 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 using plugs through socket connections. It is necessary to ensure that switches and sockets are always in good working order.

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