Top Events for 2018 National Fire Prevention Month

This October, Knott Laboratory educated insurance adjusters, agents and local fireman at the 2018 Western Colorado Fire Summit in Grand Junction, CO

2018 Western Colorado Fire Summit from Knott Laboratory on Vimeo.

Eric A. Black, B.S., CFEI, CVFI  writes about a simple check to avoid electrical fires.

Electrical service panels are intended to prevent overcurrent in the various circuits throughout the home but can often be ignored when it comes to maintenance.  The main safety feature within an electrical service panel is the circuit breaker.  A circuit breaker’s job is very simple; it will cut power to a given circuit if the circuit is pulling more current than it should be.  Common circuit breaker sizes are 15 or 20 amps but can up to 50 or higher for large appliances.  If maintained properly, circuit breakers will operate safely for a long time.

A simple check to insure your panel is performing properly and allowing the circuit breakers to do their jobs is to check for loose connections or wobbling breakers.  If a breaker is loose at its connection to the bus bar, there is potential for arcing/fire which may end up damaging the breaker or worse. With the holidays around the corner and larger electrical loads from lights and decorations, keep your families safe and perform this simple maintenance check.