A fire can break out quickly. But the reasons for this are not always clear at first glance. Because while you are very careful with candles or open fire in general, other fire risks are not immediately obvious. Defective smartphone, e-bike or notebook batteries can cause a fire.
However, multiple sockets are much more dangerous and mostly underestimated: as a rule, most sockets are designed for 3,000 to 3,500 watts. If you exceed this value, the power strips overload and can cause a fire. Devices that require a lot of electricity should therefore not be connected to a multiple socket. These include, for example, washing machines, household grills, fan heaters and dishwashers. But you should also be careful with other devices. A hair dryer alone, for example, can consume 1,000 watts.
Another thing you definitely need to pay attention to is keeping the power strip free of dust. This is because accumulated dust can ignite even with small sparks, leading to a fire.
What you should also avoid in any case is connecting several socket strips in a row. It can also be dangerous to hide the socket strips behind furniture or even in boxes. Multiple sockets have no place in wet rooms (e.g. bathrooms) either.
But no matter how careful you are, a fire can always break out. In addition to a smoke detector, which is mandatory in Germany anyway, you should also have a fire extinguisher on hand – however, not every model is suitable for every type of fire.
We show you the differences in the following table – including example recommendations for the respective fire class. Some fire extinguishers support several fire classes at the same time. It also depends in part on whether the fire extinguisher works with foam or powder.
powder or foam?
In general, if possible, powder should not be used in the house or apartment, as the mixture settles in even the smallest corners and is very difficult to remove. Powder extinguishers are therefore more for the garage or basement. A fire extinguisher with foam is therefore suitable for inhabited interiors.
