Just found out 30% of house fires from electrical stuff start in the attic not the walls

Was reading through some NFPA stats last night and that one hit me. Always figured most faults happen in outlets or panels where people actually touch stuff. But nope, attics are the hidden nightmare because nobody ever checks the wiring up there. Rodents chew through insulation, people bury boxes under 18 inches of blow-in, and it all cooks until something lights up. Been doing resi work for 8 years in Phoenix and I can count on one hand the times I've seen an attic inspection actually requested. Any of you guys actually get paid to go up there and look around, or is it just me? How do you even sell that to a homeowner?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark13d ago

Its just another case of "out of sight, out of mind" with houses. People freak out about changing air filters and cleaning gutters but never think about the stuff thats actually hidden and can burn the place down. Same thing with dryer vents, people clean the lint trap but never the actual pipe thats been clogged for years. Attic wiring is the same deal, nobody sees it until its smoking.

jana88113d ago

Did I really need to worry about attic wiring if everything seemed fine in the house?

aaron74013d ago

Put a smoke detector up in my attic after a buddy's house nearly went up. Caught a faulty wire smoking before it could do any real damage, best $15 I ever spent up there.