ee Fi | Summer Safety Sense (NAPSA)—Investing a little time and effort to prevent electrical hazards can mean increased safety and comfort this summer. Air-conditioning fires occur more frequently than manyrealize. It’s estimated that an average of 2,300 air-conditioning fires occur in residential structures each year and peak during the summer months. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 86 percent of these residential air-conditioning fires are ignited as a result of mechanical failure or malfunction, such as a shortcircuit. Electrical Safety Tips To help you keep yourcool, here are some tips from the Electrical Safety Foundation International on how to prevent cooling electrical hazardsbefore theystart: *Have a qualified, licensed electrician install and service any air-conditioning units in or around your home. *Be sure that both the electrical circuit and theelectrical outlet can handle the air-conditioning unit load. Have a licensed electrician inspect your home’s wiring and advise you as to whether it will safely handle air-conditioning units. Make sure your equipment has the label showing that it is To reducethethreat of an electri- cal fire, have a qualified, licensed electrician install and service any air-conditioning units in or around your home. listed by a recognized testing laboratory such as Underwriters Lab- oratories (UL), ETL SEMKO (ETL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA). *Look for breaks in power cords, plugs or connectors before plugging in and turning on equipment. Always plug an air conditioner into a grounded (three-pronged) outlet. If an appliance cord plug doesn’t fit an outlet, have a qualified electrician replace the outlet. Avoid overloading outlets. Plug only one high-wattage appliance into each receptacle outlet at a time. For more electrical safety tips, visit www.esfi.org.
