Fire Marshals Association of Minnesota - Electrical Safety and Fire Prevention


Electrical fire safety:

Help increase awareness about dangerous home electrical fires in your community with these messages and free materials from the USFA here.

A few facts about electrical fires:

  • Nationally, from 2011 to 2015, electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in the ignition of an average of 34,000 reported home structure fires per year.
  • These fires involved equipment such as wires, lights, cords and plugs.
  • Electrical distribution or lighting equipment ranked first in direct property damage and third among the major fire causes in homes.
    In 2017, electrical fires accounted for 7.9 percent and appliances for 7.5 percent of structure fire causes in Minnesota.

Electrical safety and fire prevention:

  • Only plug one heat-producing appliance directly into an outlet at a time.
  • Extension cords are intended for temporary use only.
  • Have all electrical work done by a qualified electrician.
  • Call an electrician if you smell burning or a rubbery smell from appliances, notice flickering or dimming lights, see sparks from an outlet, or find discolored outlets or frequent problems with fuses or tripped breakers.
 

New Report Reinforces Importance of Smoke Alarms: The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is 54% lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or none that worked. Learn more in our new report

Can Classroom Doors Be Locked to Prevent an Intruder from Entering?

Questions like this one are on the minds of many school administrators and local officials. Our new resource answers some of the most frequently asked questions around school safety and security, and provides guidance on safe door locking.