Power strips: causes fire in Queens NYC

New York City fire marshals say that there were 21 people injured in the apartment fire in Queens on April 16, 2021, and that an overloaded power strip caused it. This is why it is essential to know about the maximum capacity of your power strips and learn how to handle them. When you want to make sure that you will be getting nothing but the best and safest there is, you should consider using a heavy-duty power strip. Here are some things that you should never do with your power strip to ensure that you will never have to worry about fires.

Fire-Department-City-of-New-York-photo
(Fire Department City of New York photo)

Power strip into another

One of the basic and golden rules when using a power strip is to make sure that you are not going to plug one into another as it is tempting. This is because it goes against the regulations and also because doing it can easily cause a fire. Make sure that you are going to keep this in mind. It would be helpful to you to ensure that you understand this, so you should make it a reminder that you should never do it.

Indoor versus outdoors

There are different types of power strips, and the same goes for indoor and outdoor use. There are specific ones that go outdoors because they are designed to withstand water, and the weather, so make sure that you use those outdoors. On the other hand, there are specific ones that you should only use outside. Even if it happens to be a heavy-duty power strip, if it is meant for indoor use and you use it for outside, you will regret it as it can cause accidents.

Power strip overloading

As previously mentioned, power strips overloading can cause accidents such as fire, and that is why you should never overload it. After all, each power strip has its capacity, and that is why you need to know about it. When you overload a power strip, you create a fire hazard, which damages your business and your home, so you should never do that. It is important to determine the ampere requirements of the appliances you have so that you can be assured that it will not happen.

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by: Associated Press, PIX11 Web Team

Putting it under the rug

Electricity can easily generate heat, and while this is not a problem since it is normal, putting it under a rug or any enclosed space can cause a fire hazard. When you step on them, it can easily damage them, and this can cause you to get an electric shock, or it can cause a fire. To prevent any of that from happening and keep your family as safe as possible, you need to keep in mind that you should never put it under the rug whether or not you are using a heavy-duty power strip. Be sure that you will be aware of the things that you do, especially when it comes to anything electricity-related, and you will be just fine. If you want to learn about how to calculate if a power strip is overloaded, you can click here to read about it. 

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