Things a home fire inspector may review

9/11/2013 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Fullerton Placentia is concerned with the safety of our customers. Here are some things a home fire inspector may review.

• A proper ground. “One thing a home fire inspector should check is to make sure your home is grounded,” says Bill Burke, division manager of electrical engineering for the National Fire Protection Association. Grounding diverts excess current that may result from an electrical surge and helps to keep electrical systems, devices and humans safer.


• Electrical panel. “There should be air space around the main panel,” Burke says. Inside, there shouldn’t be evidence of overheating or corrosion, and the fuses and breakers should be the correct size.


• Appliances. “If you have a device that’s going to cause a home fire, it’s most likely going to be one that draws a lot of current,” Burke says. Inspectors might check the integrity of cords and plug-ins on fridges, stoves and other large appliances.


• Out-of-date equipment. A home fire inspector can suggest improvements to reduce the risk of an electrical fire. One important update would be to install arc-fault circuit interrupters, which are designed to detect fire-starting arcs and shut down power.


• General safety concerns. The inspector also should look for electrical hazards such as receptacles and switches that aren’t functioning properly, lightbulbs exceeding the maximum wattage, damaged cords and overloaded power strips.