Consumer Product Safety Commission

Household Extension Cords Can Cause Fires

CPSC Document #5032

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that about 4,700 residential fires originate in extension cords each year, killing 50 persons and injuring some 280 others.

Overheating of extension cords can occur at the plug, at the socket, or over the entire length of the cord. Hot plugs and sockets are often caused by deteriorated connections to the cord wires.
New and Old Style Plugs
Overheating of the entire cord is usually caused by overloading (connecting appliances that need too many watts for the wire size of the cord). Many older extension cords made with small (No. 18 gauge) wire that can overheat at 15 or 20 amps are in use.

Consumers should feel the temperature of the cords when they are in use. If they are hot to the touch, disconnect the appliances).

If there is any sign of overheating, replace the extension cords with new ones having No. 16 or 		heaver gauge wire (the lower the gauge number, the heavier the wire and the more electrical current the cord can safely carry).

The difference between the cord sizes is not obvious, but the new No. 16 cords usually have 16 1 2 or 16 / 3 stamped on the cord and will have the wire size printed on the package.

Check new cords to make sure they are listed by a recognized national testing laboratory.
009810

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, you can go to CPSC's forms page and use the first on-line form on that page. Or, you can call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or send the information to info@cpsc.gov. Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC's web site or by sending your publication request to publications@cpsc.gov. If you would like to receive CPSC's recall notices, subscribing to the email list will send all press releases to you the day they are issued.

This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20207 or send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov.