Just like a smoke detector with old batteries, don’t assume that your electrical circuit breaker box is doing its job. Old circuit breakers, just like 2-prong electric plugs, need to be replaced. Call a licensed electrician or home inspector for a professional opinion. They, and you as the home’s resident, should especially be on the lookout for bad circuit breakers made by particular manufacturers if your house was built between 1950 and 1990. During that time-frame, circuit breakers under the name Stab-Lok manufactured by Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) were installed in many homes across the US. This particular circuit breaker is so dangerous that some insurance carriers will not insure homes using Stab-Lok circuit breakers.
Yes, this breaker box was installed all over Lubbock and West Texas. Hettler Insurance has seen this breaker box in multiple homes insured by Hettler Insurance in the past 12 months. Like roaches, if you can see one, there are probably thousands. This particular post is about a Lubbock home with an FPE breaker box installed when the home was built in 1972.
Fast forward 51 years later and the homeowner, and the original purchaser of the home, was sitting in her chair watching television near midnight when the electricity went out. Assuming the problem was a breaker that blew, she got up from her chair and went to the door to go to the garage to reset the breaker. Fire was already roaring in the garage and the opened door allowed it and its smoke and gases to have access to the house.
Smoke was filling the house as she and awakened her son and grandson. She heard a response and both her grandson and son were following her. She had already left the house when the the son became disoriented, stayed behind, and sat down in a chair in the living area. Her grandson, realizing his father was still in the house was stopped by the quickly dispatched firemen from re-entering the house to find his dad and had to wait for the firemen to rescue him. The firemen successfully brought out his father but he had injuries that required a trip to the hospital.
The father never left the hospital. After substantial treatment, including being on a ventilator, he died a couple of weeks later from his injuries.
What can you do? If you’re a homeowner or a renter living in a house built from 1950 to 1990, check to see if your home has these circuit breakers. To see what they look like, and to plan a course of action if found, you can visit https://hettlerinsurance.com/2024/03/19/danger-fpe-panel-stab-lok-circuit-breakers/ or watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBQwUGcm-jM
When in doubt, call an electrician and get your electrical work brought up to date. Safety first. Any questions, call us at 806-798-7800 or visit https://hettlerinsurance.com