To prevent electrical fires in your home and prevent your electronics from generating sparks or excessive heat you can follow a few simple steps. Make sure you never use water to put out an electrical fire as it may electrocute you or make the fire worse. In practice, this means taking care of the electronics so that the circuit is not overloaded and the current stays where it should be. To do this, it’s helpful to have a little understanding of how your home’s electrical system works. Several circuits distribute electricity throughout the house. 

For example, you might have one circuit for your kitchen and another for your bedroom. Power to each of these circuits, and to the entire house, is controlled by the circuit breaker box. A breaker box that is likely to be in a garage, closet, or outdoors has a switch called a circuit breaker that controls the power to each branch circuit and a master switch that controls the power to all circuits. With the breaker box, electricians not only turn off the electricity before work, but also help prevent electrical fires. The breaker has a mechanism that “trips” and breaks the circuit when more current is transported than can be safely processed. 

A circuit overload can generate enough heat to cause a fire. Circuit overload occurs for two main reasons. First, there are too many amperes in use at the same time. An ampere is a measure of the amount of current that flows through a circuit. Think of it as the amount of water flowing through a pipe. Most branch circuits are rated at 15 or 20 amps. The number is printed on or beside the breaker switch.

Use a Blanket

Fire cannot burn without oxygen. If you don’t have a fire extinguisher at hand, you can use a heavy blanket to extinguish the fire with oxygen deficiency. Do not throw or throw the blanket over the fire. The entire ceiling must cover the flames and can be overlooked if thrown. If the fire is larger than the ceiling, this method will not work.

You can also use a fire blanket in case a fire happens in the kitchen. Fire blankets are a convenient way to fight fried food-like kitchen fire. The first thing you need to do is turn off the heat source (if possible) and then expand the blanket to be large enough to cover the entire flame. Place the fire blanket on a burning pot to extinguish the fire and leave it for at least 30 minutes to make sure the fire is extinguished. 

If you were unable to turn off the heat source before you started, turn it off as soon as you are safe. Then leave the room, close the door and call the fire department. Fire blankets are also useful when a person’s clothing catches fire. Wrap them in a blanket (make sure you wrap your hands tightly in the blanket) and encourage them to roll to the floor until the flames are extinguished. Another great use of fire blankets is protection when you have to walk in a burning room. Wrap yourself, your baby, your child, or someone else in a fire blanket as you walk through the fire-affected areas.

Use Salt and Baking Soda

While baking soda and salt are essentials in the kitchen in the cooking process they are also effective when dealing with a fire especially in case of a grease fire. Find out its place in the kitchen. You can quickly find it and pour it into an electric fire to extinguish the flame. Some of the ingredients found in baking soda are also popularly used in fire extinguishers. Baking soda is effective because it releases carbon dioxide when heated and can extinguish the fire. Salt forms a barrier between fire and air. This prevents the fire from getting the oxygen it needs. 

However, keep in mind that you will need a large amount of salt or baking soda to completely extinguish the fire. Instead, it may be easier and more effective to find the lid quickly and cover the fire.

Use a Fire Extinguisher

The best way to extinguish an electric fire, and OSHA recommends installing fire extinguishers on all floors of the house in an emergency. However, it is important that the fire extinguisher used to extinguish an electric fire is properly designed. For example, a fire extinguisher with a “C” on the label means it can handle a Class C flame consisting of an electric fire.

Powder fire extinguishers are also known as multipurpose fire extinguishers because they can be used for flammable solids (paper, wood, fabrics, etc.), flammable liquids (gasoline, diesel, paints, etc.), and flammable gases. The powder in the fire extinguisher acts as a fire extinguisher, choking oxygen in the fire and preventing the embers of the fire from spreading out.

To use a fire extinguisher pull the pin. Pulling the pin will break the opening seal. Aim low and point the nozzle or hose to the bottom of the fire. Do not touch the horn of the CO2 fire extinguisher. It can get very cold and damage the skin. Grip the handle to release the fire extinguishing agent. Sweep the root of the fire, which is the fuel source, from side to side until the fire is extinguished.

Final Thoughts

Having a house fire can be a devastating experience. This article describes the ways you can put out a fire. It is wise to prevent a home fire than to actually experience it. It can be traumatizing for you and your family. Always make sure that the  smoke detectors in your home are working and functional so you can be alert before it gets too late and the fire becomes out of hand.