An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the household appliance.
If an appliance emergency arises in your house, unplug the appliance right away and call CRT Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there is an electrical fire from one of the appliances in your home, we advise calling the city fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple ofways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it is important not to panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following some simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in more than two electrical devices into a single outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like paper or clothes near the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large appliances since they remain plugged in all the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller 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 line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.
Examine all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on each story of your home, and test them regularly to keep them in good working condition.
WHAT NOT TO DO
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the fire with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical fire.
Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct electricity to additional locations of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable objects nearby.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you should do is unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you are able to take care of the fire on your own, it’s important to have backup if the flames do get out of control.
For small fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the smoking or burning area with baking soda will sometimes prohibit oxygen flow to the fire with very little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You also may be able to smother a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire too.
For large electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be inspected regularly to be sure they have not expired. If you have a operational fire extinguisher on hand, just release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the fire, and press the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight alone or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, you should leave the home right away, shut the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call CRT Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.
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