Electrical malfunctions a top cause of home fires in U.S.
Major culprit: arcing
Electrical failure or malfunction is a factor in 45,000 to 50,000 home fires annually – fires which kill approximately 455 people a year.
Those sobering figures are from the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Home Electrical Fires report , which said electrically-caused fires account for 13 percent of total home structure fires. In addition to the loss of life, these fires resulted in 1,500 civilian injuries and $1.5 billion in direct property damage during 2007-2011.