SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Some safety precautions to take with all circuit breakers and fuses:
- Know your electrical circuit and know which outlets and products are connected to each circuit.
- Never overload any electrical circuit by connecting too many products to the circuit. Be particularly careful not to connect several products that demand high current (such as heating appliances) to a low amperage circuit.
- Comply with local building codes in wiring or adding electrical circuits. Make sure the wiring and devices used in the circuit are connected to a circuit breaker or fuse of the proper size.
- Immediately disconnect any electrical product if problems develop. Have the product examined by a competent repair person.
- Investigate to determine why a fuse blows or circuit breaker trips. Do not simply replace the fuse or reset the breaker. If a fuse blows or breaker trips, it is often a warning that the circuit is overloaded. Check the circuit for causes of overloading (for example, too many appliances plugged in, a malfunctioning product, a short circuit). When in doubt, consult a licensed electrician.
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
It’s a key part of any home that’s designed to protect the homeowner, but it could cause a fire.
That part is a Federal Pacific Electric with Stab-Lok circuit breaker box that can be found in homes built between the 1950s and the 1980s. According to experts, this particular brand of breaker box is believed to have caused thousands of fires since it was determined that they were defective. Many, if not all, insurance companies insist this type of breaker box be replaced before a policy can be issued.
Breaker boxes are designed to protect a home against circuit overloads, short circuits or outside power surges coming into the panel. If there is a power overload, the breakers are supposed to trip or shut down the electricity coming into the circuit. Should the breakers fail to trip, the heat from the increased electricity causes the breakers to overheat and melt to the point where they can possibly catch fire.
Underwriters Laboratory, which tests and certifies the safety of electrical products in the U.S., pulled its certification for these breaker boxes in June 1980 because they did not fully comply with their requirements. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the product over a two-year period but closed it without making a determination on the safety of these circuit breakers or the accuracy of the manufacturer’s position on the matter. The commission felt that it did not have enough information to make a determination nor did it have the funding available in 1983 to conduct a costly investigation or product recall.
Federal Pacific Electric went out of business years ago, but these breaker boxes leave a deadly mark as its legacy.
Since the 1970s, Federal Pacific Electric breaker boxes are believed to have been responsible for thousands of house fires across the nation, including two fires in the Cincinnati suburbs of Wyoming and Finneytown.
Terry Haynie, who owns a National Property Inspections franchise in Hamilton, said he’s seen such breaker boxes “as recently as this week.”
“They’re not uncommon but they’ve been deemed to be defective for years,” he said. “We feel that they have to be checked by a qualified electrician. It’s a liability for the buyer, the seller and anyone else in the transaction. They’re pretty common in older homes and all the information (about the breaker boxes) said it could happen.”
“They’re scattered in houses all over the area,” said Paul Horn of Anthony Electrical Service in Middletown.
Depending on the size of the box, Horn said it could cost between $1,500 and $2,000 to replace because of the various checks of circuits and wiring as well as ensuring everything is grounded.
Experts also said that when a breaker box is being replaced, there should be a check of the wiring as some poorly made and inexpensive aluminum wiring was used with these boxes.
Have a consumer problem, concern or issue? Contact Ed Richter at 513-755-5067 or Ed.Richter@coxinc.com to look into the matter.
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