Electrical Fire Causes & Prevention in Coachella

Electrical fires start quietly — a frayed wire, an overloaded circuit, a loose connection — and by the time the smoke appears, the fire is already in the wall. The warning signs are there if you know what to look for: a smell that comes and goes, a socket that is warm to the touch, a light that flickers, a breaker that trips for no clear reason. This post explains what starts electrical fires, what the warning signs are, and what the provider checks first.

The second thing to understand is that an electrical fire is not just a fire in a room. It is a fire in the wiring, and the wiring runs through the whole house — behind the walls, above the ceilings, under the floors — and the fire follows it. The provider maps the electrical damage the same way the rest of the house is mapped, and the cleaning and the repair follow the map. The wiring is checked first, and the power stays off until it is.

What Starts an Electrical Fire

A frayed wire starts an electrical fire. A wire that has been nicked, chewed, or worn through will arc, and the arc will heat the wire until the insulation catches fire. The fire starts in the wall, where you cannot see it, and by the time the smoke appears, the fire is already in the wall cavity. The provider checks the wiring first, and the power stays off until it is.

An overloaded circuit starts an electrical fire. A circuit that is asked to carry more than it was built for will heat up, and the heat will build until the wire or the socket catches fire. The signs are a socket that is warm to the touch, a plug that is discoloured, a breaker that trips for no clear reason. If a breaker trips, do not reset it again and again — the tripping is the warning, and the warning should be listened to.

A loose connection starts an electrical fire. A wire that is not tightened properly will arc, and the arc will heat the connection until it catches fire. The signs are a light that flickers, a socket that crackles, a smell that comes and goes. The provider checks the connections first, and the power stays off until the wiring has been checked.

The Warning Signs

The warning signs are there if you know what to look for: a smell that comes and goes, a socket that is warm to the touch, a light that flickers, a breaker that trips for no clear reason. A smell that comes and goes is the insulation heating up, and it is the sign that should be acted on first. If you smell something and you cannot find the source, call an electrician — and if you see smoke, call 911.

A socket that is warm to the touch is a socket that is carrying more than it should, and it should not be used until it has been checked. A plug that is discoloured is a plug that has been heated, and it should not be used again. A light that flickers is a light that has a loose connection, and it should be checked. A breaker that trips is a breaker that is doing its job, and it should not be reset again and again.

The warning signs are not always obvious, and that is why they are missed. A smell that comes and goes is easy to ignore, a socket that is warm is easy to dismiss, a light that flickers is easy to live with. The provider will tell you what the warning signs are, and what to do about them, but the provider cannot see the signs if you do not call. If something smells, if something is warm, if something flickers — call.

What to Do When an Electrical Fire Starts

Get everyone out and call 911 from outside. Do not try to put out an electrical fire with water — water conducts electricity, and the fire will follow it. Do not touch a socket, a switch or an appliance that is burning, and do not try to unplug it. The power should be switched off at the breaker, but only if you can reach it safely and without going through smoke or flame.

Once the fire is out and the officials say it is safe to enter, photograph the damage before anything is moved or cleaned. Photograph every socket, every switch, every appliance, and photograph the rooms that look untouched too, because smoke travels further than flames. The photographs are the record your insurer will read, and the record the provider works from.

Call (561) 566-7293 and describe the electrical fire — which room it started in, what the smell was, whether the power is off, and what now looks blackened or scorched. The provider will tell you whether the job needs a visit, and what the visit will cover, before any work starts. The provider will not quote a price over the phone, because a price without a walk-through would be a guess.

What the Provider Checks First

The provider checks the wiring first, and the power stays off until it is. The wiring is checked room by room, circuit by circuit, and the damage is mapped the same way the rest of the house is mapped. The provider will tell you what the wiring needs, and what the repair will cost, before any work starts — and the provider will not switch the power back on before the wiring has been checked.

The provider checks the appliances next. Soot is corrosive to circuits, and a device that looks fine can fail weeks later, so each appliance is assessed one by one. Some can be cleaned and kept, some must be replaced, and the provider will tell you which is which before any work starts. The inventory lists every appliance, and the list goes into the claim file.

The provider checks the smoke and the soot last, because the wiring is the first thing and the cleaning follows it. The dry pass lifts the soot, the wet pass follows, and each room is sealed once it is clean. The provider will tell you what the cleaning found, and what still needs to be done, before the next step starts.

Preventing the Next One

Do not overload a circuit. A circuit that is asked to carry more than it was built for will heat up, and the heat will build until the wire or the socket catches fire. If a breaker trips, do not reset it again and again — the tripping is the warning, and the warning should be listened to. Call an electrician, and have the circuit checked.

Do not use a frayed wire, a damaged plug, or a socket that is warm to the touch. Replace the wire, replace the plug, and have the socket checked. Do not run a cord under a rug, do not pin a cord to a wall, and do not use an extension cord as a permanent solution. The cord is the most common place for a wire to be damaged, and the damage is the most common cause of an electrical fire.

Have the wiring checked, especially in an older home. The Coachella Valley has homes from every decade, and the older homes have wiring that was built for a different time — fewer circuits, thinner wires, and connections that have loosened over the years. An electrician can tell you what the wiring needs, and the provider can tell you what the fire did, but the prevention is the electrician's job, and it is worth doing before the next fire.

Electrical Fire Causes and Prevention, in Order

1. Learn the signs — A smell that comes and goes, a socket that is warm, a light that flickers, a breaker that trips — each is a warning.
2. Do not overload — A circuit that carries more than it was built for will heat up. If a breaker trips, have the circuit checked.
3. Get out and call 911 — Do not try to put out an electrical fire with water. Get out, call from outside, and stay out.
4. Keep the power off — The power stays off until the provider has checked the wiring, room by room, circuit by circuit.
5. Check the wiring — Have an electrician check the wiring, especially in an older home.

Mistakes That Start Electrical Fires

• Resetting a tripped breaker again and again instead of having the circuit checked
• Overloading a circuit with too many appliances
• Using a frayed wire or a damaged plug
• Running a cord under a rug or pinning it to a wall
• Trying to put out an electrical fire with water

For help with this in Coachella, see Electrical Fire Damage Repair in Coachella — or go back to the Coachella fire damage restoration home page.