KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) is urging individuals be mindful of potential fire hazards when decorating their homes with electric powered lights and other decorations during the holiday season.

Deputy Commissioner and Officer in charge of fire safety prevention and investigation at the JFB, Sean Martin, told JIS News that wire inspections should be done ahead of decorating to ensure lights are intact.

“One of the first things we want to ensure we do [is] check for chafing of the wires. If there is chafing of the wires, we are not recommending taping over the chafe, we are recommending you get rid of that set of decoration [and] replace it with new ones. The plug that you plug in, you want to make sure it is properly fitted and there’s no breakage. If there is breakage, we get rid of that set of decoration,” Martin emphasised.

He further advised individuals to be cautious about how many lights they plug into each other, as too many could overload the circuit and lead to a fire.

“If you put too much load on a circuit, the circuit becomes overloaded and if the breaker doesn’t trip, you will have a fire. You [also] need to be careful of the kind of extension you use to plug them in. There are some low-cost extensions which are not suited and they become overheated after a while and they start to burn because the quality of these extensions is not good,” Martin said.

When purchasing extension cords and lights, people should ensure that they only buy rated and fit-for-purpose electrical equipment that will provide the required kind of service.

“Ensure that you use them fit for purpose. Don’t use the ones for inside on the outside, because they are not water resistant and that can start a fire,” Martin said.

Rated electrical extension cords are identifiable with the marking ‘UL’ (Underwriters Laboratory) on the packaging.

– JIS

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