[News Today] Multi-outlet strips spark deadly fires

[LEAD]
Two deadly apartment fires in Busan that claimed the lives of four children have been linked to overheated power strips. With energy use soaring in the summer heat, experts warn that overloading outlets can be a deadly risk.

[REPORT]
Young sisters were killed in two separate apartment fires that erupted while their parents were out.

Both fires are assumed to have started near multi-outlet power strips.

This experiment was conducted to see what happens when there's a power surge in a multi-outlet strip.

A 15-ampere air conditioner and a 10-ampere cooling fan were plugged into a multi-outlet power strip with a rated current capacity of 10 amperes.

The appliances' power use exceeded the strip's electric current allowance by 2.5 times.

The surface temperature rose above 130 degrees Celsius in just seven and a half minutes and then flames shot up.

Jeong Dong-woo / Busan Metropolitan Fire and Disaster HQs
Sparks flew when two electric wires were fused by heat.

What happens when sparks fly is what happens in a fire.

Experts advise not to connect too many appliances to a single multi-outlet strip and an appliance with high energy use such as an air conditioner should be plugged into a wall-mounted power outlet.

It's also dangerous to coil up the electric cords or put the plug loosely into the socket.

Lee Dong-jin / Korea Electrical Safety Corporation
Heat is very likely to build up and such pressure could damage the insulating materials inside to cause a short circuit.

Roughly 1,400 fires nationwide started from electrical outlets in the past three years.

Twenty-four percent of those fires occurred in July and August when electricity use is at its peak.

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