The kitchen is one of the busiest and most heavily-used rooms in your home. When it comes to fires, it’s also perhaps the most dangerous. With various fluids being used, such as oils and water, along with electrical appliances, heat sources, and more, it doesn’t take much for a simple mistake to lead to a potentially devastating blaze suddenly bursting to life. When it comes to kitchen safety, knowledge and care can go a long way, as can preparation should a fire ever start. Check out these valuable tips for learning how to avoid electrical fires in the kitchen and how to deal with one that starts.

The kitchen frequently uses water, oils, greases, and other substances alongside electricity in numerous situations. Your appliances all likely run on electricity, including your refrigerator, garbage disposal, dishwasher, and possibly even your stove and oven. While most of these devices are designed to keep all potentially-sensitive electronics away from any possibly damaging fluids, you likely still have exposed electrical plugs, extension cords, and more running along your countertops.

It doesn’t take much for a kitchen fire to start. Perhaps the most common type is a grease fire. If you ever work with hot oil on the stovetop, you’re probably well aware of how dangerous this substance is. In addition to having an extremely high burn risk, a single spark could cause a grease or oil source to quickly ignite, becoming a massive and difficult to deal with ordeal. This means you should be extremely cautious when using electricity to cook. Regularly inspect your plugs and cords for any signs of wear or fraying, and you should immediately stop using a device if you find any exposed copper at all—the risk of a potential fire far outweighs the cost of replacing a broken appliance.

Your microwave is a particularly interesting appliance in that it reacts violently with any metal placed inside it. If you’re not paying attention, it’s not difficult to accidentally stick something that isn’t microwave-safe in there, and usually by the time you figure it out it’s already too late.

If a fire does erupt in your microwave, opening the door should NEVER be the first thing you do. Fires need oxygen to breathe, and opening the door allows the oxygen to get in quickly, allowing the fire to grow and spread, and your problem will only get worse. Instead, the first thing you should do is unplug the device if possible and allow the fire to suffocate itself and go out before opening the door. Before you do, be prepared to dial 911.

Putting out a fire in your kitchen is rarely as easy as throwing water on it. In fact, in most cases water actually makes the problem worse. If you have an electrical fire, throwing water on it will probably only encourage more sparking and increase the chances of injury by electrocution. If you have a grease fire, throwing water on it will only cause the grease to splatter and continue to burn, potentially spreading the fire further (after all, water and oil don’t mix).

If you have a grease fire in your kitchen, the best way to put it out is to smother it and deprive it of oxygen. If the fire is contained in a pan, the best way to smother it is to use a metal lid to cover the pan and cut off the oxygen supply. If you don’t have a metal lid, a large baking sheet will do the job. Just make sure you use oven mitts or some other form of hand protection when you finally remove it. If the fire spreads outside the pan, cover it with salt or baking soda to quickly and effectively put the fire out. These substances are made from non-flammable material, and will quickly cover and suffocate the fire from oxygen if applied properly. Electrical fires can generally be fought the same way, but you should always move to unplug the device first if possible. You don’t want to keep sending electricity through a short any longer than you have to.

Finally, every kitchen should have a fire extinguisher in it. If you don’t, pick up a small Class B or Class ABC unit from your local hardware store (they’re not very expensive). These devices are approved to fight grease and kitchen fires because the retardant they use is dry, thus meaning you won’t have to worry about splattering that you would otherwise face with a different type.

There’s been a lot of questions about Federal Pacific Electric Panels.  The Dallas Morning News ran an article on the potential of fire that these panels possess.  As an Electrical Contractor with 27 years experience, I can tell you first hand that these electrical panels are unpredictable and unsafe.  We had a customer who was renting a house and was having an electrical problem. We told her it was due to her electrical panel.  This Federal Pacific Panel was overheating and beginning to melt.  We informed her that she needed to change it.  She got back in touch with us Sunday night to schedule for Monday morning to have the panel replaced.  We told her we would be there at 9am and she said she had to drop her kids off at school and would prefer a 9:30am appointment.  When we showed up at 9:30, she showed up at the same time and we were both greeted by the Fire Department trying to put out the fire in her home due to the electrical panel.

Failure of these panels is not an “if,” but “when.”  A quick evaluation by a licensed and knowledgeable electrician can make a big difference.  Don’t gamble on your security, call and get the free evaluation today!

ElectricMan Inc. is one of Dallas’ most trusted electricians. Nick Schaeffer, Mr. ElectricMan himself, has quite the resume for a master electrician. He started the company by himself in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since! For more information about Electricman’s list of electrical repair services, please visit www.ElectricManInc.com

We have 168 hours in the week, and most of us spend 40 of those hours at our office. If we are spending this much time in one place, we want to make it a comfortable atmosphere for ourselves and others who are visiting. The appearance of your business can be influenced heavily by its lighting. Here are some business lighting solutions to keep in mind to help yourself and your business.

The last thing you want is to be sitting in a dark space day after day. Getting the proper lighting in your office will help lift your energy and make your space more enjoyable. When you look at your office space, can you identify dark spaces or dimly lit areas? If so, you are most likely in need of a lighting redesign. Using pot lights and spot lights can help to brighten up even the darkest corners without adding large fixtures to your space and reducing the height of the room. In rooms where you have no natural light at all, it is especially important that you have substantial lighting. Having only light from your monitor can create stress on your eyes.  Let an expert review your space and get your ceiling connected correctly with the right lighting.

For those businesses that are looking for foot traffic even at the late hours of the day or night, this is a big one to consider. The outside of your building should be well lit for potential customers to see. Not only does it make your business more appealing, but it also adds safety for both your customers and employees. Adding outdoor spot lights and overhead lighting can make all routes to your business visible and safer for everyone.

At this point most of us are tethered to our computers. Without them, little work can be done. So, if a power outage occurs, you could be looking at hours of downtime. Installing a backup generator can help to protect you from the unproductive hours. If a power outage occurs, the backup generator will engage to keep your electronics up and running. Computers, printers, registers, and tills can be continually used. An investment like this can pay for itself over the years.

Making your work a more enjoyable place can start with simple steps, like upgrading your lighting. Have one of our expert electricians visit your business and we can help you not only make it enjoyable for you and your customers, but more productive and safe.

Smoke detectors are very crucial pieces of safety equipment in your home and it is now also mandatory in NSW that residential properties have at least one smoke alarm on every storey. Not many people are aware of this, but a large percentage of fires in homes cause massive destruction because the smoke detectors didn’t function the way they should have.

The unfortunate fact is that we almost always take these fixtures for granted; we get them installed and rarely even notice they are there on the ceiling until they get set off accidently or when their batteries go dead. Improperly installed smoke detectors or even poorly-maintained ones will only end up letting you down exactly when you need them.

It’s important that you make smoke detector maintenance a part and parcel of your regular home maintenance routine. There two main types of smoke alarms used on residential properties:

These have minuscule quantities of radioactive material that reacts to the particles that are emitted when a fire breaks out, and that sets-off the alarm. These alarms are extremely effective in the detection of fast-flaming fires in which there isn’t too much of visible smoke.

These have photocells with a light beam that shines away from the cell. If smoke enters its test chamber, the smoke particles scatter some of the light; this hits the cell and triggers the alarm. These types of smoke detectors are ideal for detecting smouldering/smoky fires, which is how residential fires typically are.

Regardless of the types of alarms installed on your property, it doesn’t take more than a few minutes annually to ensure that these devices are in a working order at all times. The few steps you should take are:

Aside from the regular maintenance, it’s also very important that you consider how many smoke detectors you have and how they are powered. The best way to increase the effectiveness and safety of these devices is to upgrade your home’s smoke detection setup. The things to focus on are:

We can install and maintain smoke detectors on your residential or commercial premises. For more information, contact the Allround Electricals team at this number – 1300 169 263. Alternatively, you can also write to us at this email address.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263

Spring is notorious for some wild thunderstorms that have been known to knock out the power for several hours and in some cases, several days. When the storm is especially large and the outage is widespread, you are going to struggle to get basic necessities like batteries for the flashlights, canned food and stuff for sandwiches. You are also going to be relegated to cold showers until the power is restored. It paints a pretty grim picture. You can prepare for a power outage and avoid all of the issues caused by not having electricity by having a generator installed by an electrician. Glendale homeowners can rely on The Electric Connection to take care of the installation and answer any questions they may have about standby generators.

Standby generators are an ideal option for anybody who is not keen to go even a few hours without electricity. If you have somebody in the home that relies on electric medical equipment, you work from home or you have small children, having a backup electricity plan is an excellent idea. Standby generators are different from the portable kind and are installed as a permanent fixture to the home by a licensed electrician in Glendale.

The generators are extremely easy to use and don’t require you to do anything but add fuel from time to time. A switch will be installed by a Glendale electrician that automatically turns the generator on when the power goes out. You won’t have to run extension cords or deal with difficult to start engines. You will need to determine how much power your home needs to stay functioning so you can purchase the right generator. If you are not sure, you can always give the team at The Electric Connection a call to learn more about standby generators and how they can help you ride out a storm.