Fire Dangers in Colorado During Summer

… And It’s Possible An Electrical Inspection Could’ve Prevented It

It’s summer in Colorado, and that means plenty of fun in the sun all over the Rocky Mountain region.

It also means plenty of fire danger.

Block parties, barbecues, outdoor gatherings for families and neighborhoods… they can be a lot of fun.  

But how many such gatherings have been ruined recently just by the presence of smoke in the air from all the regional wild fires – smoke that makes hanging around outdoors much less pleasant (or even dangerous)?

One Colorado couple recently spent hours preparing to host their annual Fourth of July outdoor neighborhood party… only to end up with fifty neighbors stuffed elbow-to-elbow in their family room, because everyone was sincerely worried about smoke inhalation hazards outside!

Fire danger in Colorado is very high – probably at its annual peak during the hot, dry summer months.  Leaving aside the rare (but horrific) instances of arson, how many of these fires could’ve been prevented?

We’ve all been taught from an early age about fire safety while camping, hiking, or otherwise enjoying the bounty of outdoor activities that make Colorado such a wonderful place to live.  Be careful with campfires… don’t smoke where you aren’t supposed to… don’t let a spark-causing chain hang from your car’s back bumper.

But what’s easy to overlook is the fact that electrical house fires – most of which could be prevented by a simple inspection by a qualified, professional electrician – can also spread outside the home and cause unspeakable damage, from loss of wildlife habitats to forced evacuations of entire towns.

In Colorado, these aren’t just imagined scenarios.  They’ve happened, recently, and all-too-frequently during wild fire season in the last few years.

Get An Electrician To Inspect It… Or You Might Well Regret It

Has it been some time since you’ve had your home inspected by a qualified electrician?  This would be an excellent time to make an appointment for a thorough look at the potential fire hazards around your house and yard.

Your electrician knows just what to look for – and where to look for it.  After all, with years of experience, the best electricians have seen a lot of different situations in a lot of different homes.

Faulty or poorly-designed (or badly installed) wiring is one of the biggest causes of preventable electrical house fires.  And to the untrained homeowner’s eye, the existence of such hazards is usually far from obvious.

But the list of things your electrician will check includes far more than just your wiring.

Are your lighting fixtures up-to-snuff, and are you using the proper bulbs?  Is your electrical panel (“breaker box”) in good shape (or is it an outdated fire hazard)?  Are flammables being properly stored, extension cords being correctly used, and all outlets and switches properly covered in your home?

Outside, is electricity being properly routed?  Are ground fault circuit interrupters on the job, making sure the system shuts down when a hazard is presented?  Are “wet areas” securely set up for fire-hazard avoidance?

A thorough inspection by a qualified, professional electrician won’t take long, and won’t cost much.  But putting your life back together after a house fire? That will be more time-consuming and costly than you’d ever want.

You don’t want to be the inadvertent cause of Colorado’s next “famous” wild fire.  Sure, accidents happen, and not all fires can be prevented.  But have a qualified electrician perform a professional inspection of your home, and you’ll have peace-of-mind knowing you’ve done all you can to avoid “being that guy.”