Do apartment buildings pose increased risks of electrical and heating fires? The United States Fire Administration reports that 2,900 clothes dryers catch fire per year; the fires cause an average of five deaths and 100 injuries. Americans living in apartments and conjoined housing need to be particularly careful. Neglected hazards and accidents can burn down a particular apartment and endanger neighbors. Here are some of the most common apartment fire hazards:
Hazard #1: Residential Clothes Dryers
Most clothes dryer fires occur during fall and winter months, according to the USFA. The majority of units overheat due to infrequent cleaning; tenants’ clothing (inside dryers) and dust, lint, and fiber were the most likely items to catch fire.
Tenants can reduce the likelihood of fires by cleaning or reporting dirty machines to landlords. Keeping electrical wiring off the floor, using inexpensive nylon cable ties, will also put a significant dent in clothes dryer fires. Cable ties firmly secure cords into place using teeth and a pawl.
Hazard #2: Damaged Electrical Wiring
Although clothes dryer fires are especially common, tenants should also carefully protect themselves — and their neighbors — from fires associated with damaged electrical wiring. Damaged electrical cords are fairly common. Residents may break, bend, or tear cords by running them under carpets, doors, and low cabinets; wires are also especially vulnerable to damage when they are wedged between furniture and walls.
Tenants can easily address these problems by installing inexpensive desk grommets. Hard plastic or rubber grommets make wire management easy; tenants can feed cables through desk grommets to protect them from blunt edges likely to tear or bend wiring. Residents can also fit cable glands over the tops of wires to safely connect electrical cables to various electronics and equipment.
Electrical hazards, including all too common clothes dryer fires, pose serious dangers to residents and their fellow tenants. Keep apartment buildings and conjoined housing safe by carefully cleaning dryers and securing and protecting electrical wiring.