Circuit breakers are supposed to protect your family from a fire, but Target 11 has discovered many of us may be living with a ticking time bomb and not know it.
The danger is with one brand of faulty circuit breakers. I found documented cases where Federal Pacific Stab-lok breakers failed and actually caused fires.
The breakers are in thousands of homes in the Pittsburgh area that were built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. They were made by Federal Pacific Electric, a company that no longer exists.
Fire investigators have linked the faulty breakers to nearly 3,000 fires a year, including one that destroyed a home in Longmeadow, Mass.
The investigator wrote in his report, "Federal Pacific electrical panels are notorious for malfunctioning."
"Of any of the panels ever manufactured, Federal Pacific is probably the least safe of all," said Malcolm Whipkey, a home inspector with 1st Home Inspections.
The first tell-tale sign is often flickering lights and then a basement, attic or garage filled with smoke.
A circuit breaker is designed to trip during an overload, cutting off electricity to prevent a fire. If the breaker doesn't trip, the wires can overheat and even ignite.
"When you look at this case, you notice the case of the breaker shows a lot of heat damage," said Bert Davis, as he showed me a breaker that was involved in a fire.
Davis is the founder of BDA Engineering. He investigates electrical fires and is concerned that many older breakers may fail.
"If you get corrosion inside the breaker, those moving parts may not react at all, or they may not react quickly enough," said Davis.
Back in 1983, the Consumer Product Safety Commission expressed concern about the failure of FPE breakers, but didn't issue a recall.
Since then, experts have testified that the company cheated on testing to get approval from Underwriters Laboratories.
"This is probably the root cause of the Federal Pacific circuit panel," said Whipkey as he showed me the connectors that he says can come loose with age.
When he comes across Federal Pacific panel during a home inspection, he recommends that it be replaced.
"When you have a loose connection, you wind up with arcing and overheating and overloading the circuit breaker," said Whipkey.
Insurance companies know about the dangers. Some even refuse to cover homes with Federal Pacific Stab-lok breakers.
"Everything has a life expectancy to it," said Don Brucker, the Allegheny County Deputy Chief Fire Marshall.
Brucker says 20 percent of the fires his office investigates are caused electrical failures. He believes many of these fires could be prevented.
"If a breaker trips in your house, the worst thing to do is just go automatically go kick it back in if you have no idea what tripped it," said Brucker.
Circuit breakers have a lifespan of about 40 to 50 years, but some panels may not last that long.
If you have an older panel, especially a Federal Pacific circuit breaker, get it checked out by an electrical engineer because it may need to be replaced.
For more information on circuit breakers go to Is My Panel Safe?
The danger is with one brand of faulty circuit breakers. I found documented cases where Federal Pacific Stab-lok breakers failed and actually caused fires.
The breakers are in thousands of homes in the Pittsburgh area that were built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. They were made by Federal Pacific Electric, a company that no longer exists.
Fire investigators have linked the faulty breakers to nearly 3,000 fires a year, including one that destroyed a home in Longmeadow, Mass.
The investigator wrote in his report, "Federal Pacific electrical panels are notorious for malfunctioning."
"Of any of the panels ever manufactured, Federal Pacific is probably the least safe of all," said Malcolm Whipkey, a home inspector with 1st Home Inspections.
The first tell-tale sign is often flickering lights and then a basement, attic or garage filled with smoke.
A circuit breaker is designed to trip during an overload, cutting off electricity to prevent a fire. If the breaker doesn't trip, the wires can overheat and even ignite.
"When you look at this case, you notice the case of the breaker shows a lot of heat damage," said Bert Davis, as he showed me a breaker that was involved in a fire.
Davis is the founder of BDA Engineering. He investigates electrical fires and is concerned that many older breakers may fail.
"If you get corrosion inside the breaker, those moving parts may not react at all, or they may not react quickly enough," said Davis.
Back in 1983, the Consumer Product Safety Commission expressed concern about the failure of FPE breakers, but didn't issue a recall.
Since then, experts have testified that the company cheated on testing to get approval from Underwriters Laboratories.
"This is probably the root cause of the Federal Pacific circuit panel," said Whipkey as he showed me the connectors that he says can come loose with age.
When he comes across Federal Pacific panel during a home inspection, he recommends that it be replaced.
"When you have a loose connection, you wind up with arcing and overheating and overloading the circuit breaker," said Whipkey.
Insurance companies know about the dangers. Some even refuse to cover homes with Federal Pacific Stab-lok breakers.
"Everything has a life expectancy to it," said Don Brucker, the Allegheny County Deputy Chief Fire Marshall.
Brucker says 20 percent of the fires his office investigates are caused electrical failures. He believes many of these fires could be prevented.
"If a breaker trips in your house, the worst thing to do is just go automatically go kick it back in if you have no idea what tripped it," said Brucker.
Circuit breakers have a lifespan of about 40 to 50 years, but some panels may not last that long.
If you have an older panel, especially a Federal Pacific circuit breaker, get it checked out by an electrical engineer because it may need to be replaced.
For more information on circuit breakers go to Is My Panel Safe?
WPXI
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