Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.

If an appliance emergency arises in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and call Fox Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Pueblo. If there is an electrical fire from one of the appliances inside your house, we recommend calling the local fire department even before you try to extinguish the fire yourself.

An electrical fire can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it is important to not panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You can prevent electrical fires from ever starting by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug in a lot of electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there is debris like clothes or paper near the electrical outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the dangers of larger home appliances because they stay plugged in all of the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or any time you are away from home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one working smoke detector on each story of your house, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source might give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct electricity to additional parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you should do is to unplug the device from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you think you might be able to take care of the fire yourself, it is a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of control.

For smaller fires, you might be able to use baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the smoking or burning area with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.

For large electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to be sure they are not expired. If there is a working extinguisher on hand, release the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, you should leave the home immediately, close the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Fox Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

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