The new year is off to a busy start for Honolulu firefighters. They’ve battled eight major building fires in just the first two weeks of 2019.
And investigators concluded that a house fire last Wednesday in Foster Village was sparked by electrical arcing in a power strip.
Five adults and three children managed to escape, but three puppies did not survive.
Many people rely on power strips when then aren’t enough outlets for all of their devices.
“They really are a big help, but like anything, there are some things that can go wrong,” said Capt. Scot Seguirant of the Honolulu Fire Department.
One common mistake is plugging a power strip into another one, or an extension cord.
Another problem is overloading a power strip. Experts say items like toasters and microwaves that are designed to change temperatures should be plugged directly into a wall outlet.