Recently, the Perry Volunteer Fire Department has responded to a few fires caused by electrical sources. That has prompted Fire Chief Chris Hinds to remind the public about proper electrical safety and fire prevention.

Hinds says there are more than 40,000 electrical fires in homes every year, and an average of 350 people die in those fires. A common cause is when people install electrical systems that exceed their houses’ capabilities. “When a fuse blows, or a breaker trips in the home, people tend to think, ‘Oh gee, the appliance that I’ve got running or whatever is pulling a little more than what that fuse can handle, so I need to put in a bigger fuse.’ And most often, that’s not the case, because the fuses and breakers that are in our home are designed for the electrical circuit that they’re on. So if you put a bigger fuse or a higher-amperage breaker into your box to keep it from tripping, what you’re doing is overloading that circuit. And you’re creating more heat build-up because the power is going to go through that fuse rather than trip, and it’s going to cause that cord to heat up real fast.”

Hinds adds, in addition to fuses and breakers, another common cause of electrical fires is extension cords. He says problems typically pop up when cords are covered with rugs to hide them, which creates a great deal of heat. Issues can also happen to cords that aren’t maintained properly or have the grounding pegs removed to fit in older outlets. To hear more about fire safety, listen to last Tuesday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.