An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the household appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance right away and then call Chico Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Chico. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside of your house, we recommend calling the fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire yourself.
An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s important to not panic. Follow our simple guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES
Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires from starting by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Don’t plug in more than two electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there is clutter like clothes or paper nearby the outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the dangers of large appliances because they are plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left running overnight or any time you are away from home, and try not to keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.
Check all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one working smoke detector on every story of your home, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in good working condition.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on or near a power source could cause a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire even worse. Water might conduct electricity to other locations of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the area.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you want to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you are able to take care of the fire on your own, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of control.
For little fires, you might be able to use baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the fuming or burning area with baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You also could be able to extinguish a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire too.
For larger electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked regularly to ensure they are not expired. If there is a operational fire extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire may block an exit, you should leave the home as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Chico Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we will identify the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and return it to working order.
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