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Fire officials urge residents to check wiring in homes
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More from County NewsLocal fire officials are reminding residents that electrical shorts and overloads are a common cause of house fires, as part of National Electrical Safety Month.
Nationwide, fires resulting from electrical failures or malfunctions damage an average of 53,600 homes and cause 500 deaths each year, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Electrical fires account for roughly half the structure fires reported in Oxnard, said Sergio Martinez, lead fire investigator for the Oxnard Fire Department.
Such fires are common throughout the county, said Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.
Of the 54 fires his department investigated in the first third of this year, eight stemmed from electrical problems, Nash said.
A family of 11 was displaced from their home on Juneberry Place in Oxnard on May 9 after an exhaust fan in a bathroom started an electrical fire and caused an estimated $100,000 worth of damage to the residence, the Oxnard Fire Department reported.
In April, a wiring problem in a doorbell of a home on Kalorama Drive in Ventura sparked a fire that caused an estimated $4,000 in damage, according to the Ventura Fire Department. A fire that started in an electric stove caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to an apartment on Cedar Street in Ventura in March.
Damaged or improperly connected cords are among the most common causes of electrical fires, Martinez said. To reduce the fire danger, electrical cords should be inspected to make sure they are not cut, frayed or bent, he said. A break in an electrical connection can cause sparks when circuits arc. Bent plugs can cause similar problems.
Overloading outlets by connecting surge protectors to one another and leaving electrical connections partly plugged into outlets should also be avoided, Martinez said.
Cords should not be placed under heavy objects or in doorways where they can be pinched, Nash said. Three-pronged plugs are safer because they are grounded.
"With good maintenance and proper precautions, you can greatly reduce the risk" of electrical fires, Nash said.
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