Steps to Take After an Electrical Fire

An electrical fire can break out because of an overloaded circuit breaker or because of faulty wiring. Though you may notice some symptoms of an electrical fire like sparks coming from an outlet or a burning odor when you plug in certain things, these fires can happen with little to no warning. Once you get your family out of the house and to a safe place and call 911 to have the fire put out, you can take some other steps to make your home safer for your family.

Contact Your Insurer

Make your very first call one to your insurer or the company responsible for your home insurance policy. This company will request a copy of the fire report to make sure that the fire was electrical in nature and not caused by you or someone in your home. If you had a smaller fire and put it out on your own, the insurer will likely send an adjuster to your home. The adjuster will determine the cause of the fire and make a report that shows the work needed as well as how much the company will pay out on those repairs.

Block Off Access

Depending on the severity of the fire, you may want to block off access or limit access to the room. Younger children are fascinated with changes and may want to poke things in the socket or try to plug things into other outlets in the room. It's best to completely block access to the room until you finish making any necessary repairs. If this is not possible, you can use tarps with heavy weights to bricks to block off the damaged areas of the room.

Call an Electrician

Ask your insurer for a Ponte Vedra electrician to find someone you can trust to repair your home. The electrician will need to get inside the walls to find the cause of the fire. He or she may need to strip out the old wiring before installing any new wiring and then upgrade your circuit breaker to ensure that it can handle all the appliances and devices that your home runs. Electricians can also inspect other areas of your home to find any other problems that might lead to a future fire. Though an electrical fire might scare you, you can take steps to keep those fires from breaking out.