There’s no price that can be put on safety, that much I learned from an experience that almost cost me and my family’s lives. While we all know it perfectly well, we don’t always pay much attention to it because of being so busy with work-related issues which is the recipe for taking life for granted. Nowadays, there’s hardly anyone who isn’t a fan of electronics, and even if you don’t use the social networks or the internet as much, you still rely on your TV for some entertainment, so like it or not, we’re all tech addicts. What this means is we spend endless amounts of time using technology and have plenty of applications and wiring at home all around us, sometimes even in our way. I wasn’t paying much attention to the cable mess that was piling up through the rooms, having wires laying around, so I wasn’t even aware of the potential threat, just waiting for disaster to happen.
Though I’d noticed that some of the cables got frayed over time, I figured if the appliances and electronics were still working, it was all good so I would postpone replacement over and over again. After some unsuccessful attempts to fix them with a tape, I gave up on that and just thought I’d buy new ones one of these days. As much as I waited, trouble was in a hurry. My carelessness led me to believe there was no danger and yet frayed cables are one of the main culprits when it comes to fire causes. Thank God for the fire alarm and the fire fighters’ quick intervention! Luckily the fire didn’t spread around home much except for two rooms and no one being in at the time otherwise I’m not sure this wouldn’t have ended in a disaster. This made me rethink all my “one of these days” philosophy and I delved deeper into flame retardant and fire rated cables Australia shops had for sale to find the best ones and prevent such accidents.
As I was told by the professionals who saved my home, once a cable is frayed, the exterior that protects is damaged and the current that is carried by the wires makes them run very hot which easily catch fire, same way poor wiring does carrying more voltage than their capacities allow. As much as this was frightening, it’s also served as the perfect lesson for us – now I always pay attention to cables and replace them immediately in case I see they’re frayed. Of course, getting fire rated cables also adds to our safety considering they are designed to function even when exposed to flames and can withstand it for more than two hours, crucial in case of emergency. However, be wary when purchasing, make sure you buy the fire rated cables Australia reliable shops offer because there are also certain ones that are fake, made of cheaper materials, not using copper as the conductor for instance.
Let my lesson be your lesson too, and don’t wait up for accidents to happen. Make sure you take care of the cable mess, check for frayed ones and replace them when necessary, investing only in high quality products. Better safe than sorry!
