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Electrical fires are unique from other fire types because they have the potential to deliver electric shocks in addition to being on fire. Avoid serious injury from possible electrical emergency situations by avoiding the use of water, foam-based fire extinguishers, wet-chemical fire extinguishers,  flour, or baking powder to put out an electrical fire. 

While most electrical items can be plugged into a GFCI outlet, some appliances with internal or stationary motors, such as refrigerators, vent fans, and fluorescent lighting, can cause nuisance tripping. This happens because they experience a small, normal amount of current leakage, which can cause the GFCI to trip even when the appliance is working correctly. Although this is not a safety hazard, it can be inconvenient and may cause the GFCI outlet to wear out faster. For this reason, it is often better to plug these types of appliances into a standard outlet. Additionally, electrical circuits over 100 feet long can sometimes cause tripping. Some appliances, like hair dryers, have their own built-in GFCI protection, so connecting them to a standard outlet is fine.

If you find the power cables for your appliances are too short, there are ways to extend them for the cost of just the extra wiring you need. Simply cut and strip your wires, solder them together, and cover them using heat shrink tubing. Not everyone has a soldering tool on hand, so if you’re looking to extend in a pinch, an extension cord, power bar, or surge protector can do the job just fine.

That depends on your setup. If a circuit breaker already has GFCI protection, then everything connected to that specific circuit is being monitored. You don’t need additional GFCI outlets on that breaker.

However, if the breaker is not GFCI, then you should have GFCI receptacles for at-risk outlets nearby water sources, because they are not receiving protection. Breakers in a breaker box can vary between GFCI and non-GFCI. Look for GFCI labels on the breaker or try to find the breaker model number to look it up if you aren’t sure.