Top 5 Reasons Why Electrical Fires Are Started

Old Wiring 

If your house is 20 years old or older, you might want to look into getting a house rewire by a

Licensed and experienced electrician! Poor or Faulty electrical wiring is the most common cause

of residential fires around australia, and the older your house is the higher chance of an

electrical fire starting, for quite a few reasons 

• Higher chance of overloading circuits 
• Old or poor installation of the wiring 
• Cabling that has deteriorated 
• Cabling could be loose and damaged 

Overloading Circuits 

When multiple appliances are being used on a circuit that doesn’t hold that much support, too much power is passed through a circuit which causes an excessive electrical current that causes the circuit to heat up to a point where it can not support, leading to the circuit to overheat and potentially creating a fire. 

Signs that you have an overloaded circuit 

• Flickering or dimmed lights 
• Power/lighting frequently trips 
• Cracking or a buzzing sound that will come from light switches or power points 
• Burning smell coming from light switches or power points 

Faulty electrical outlets 

When outlets and switches start to get older they have an increased chance of causing a fire, this is due to the fact that over time the wiring could have become loose, the wiring could have become damaged or deteriorated, or when they is a lot of power being drawn from the outlet it can become frayed, these are all reasons that would risk of a fire igniting 

Light Fixtures 

A common mistake that is made is when installing a light bulb in any type of light fixture or  lamp, the wattage of the light bulb isn’t checked. When a light fixture has a bulb that draws too much power it causes the light fixture to overheat which increases the likelihood of a fire! 

Extension cords

Whilst extension cords are very handy they should only be used temporarily and not permanently. Extension cords overheat very easily which causes electrical fires when not being used correctly, they can also fry the appliances that are plugged into them when they are not being used correctly.