An arsonist slept in my garage for 20 years

Recently I witnessed a fast-moving, fully involved house fire a block away from my home in the Park Place development in Tinton Falls. There was a young man inside the house at the time, and if it weren’t for a passerby running into the house and getting him out just in time, this would be a very different and tragic story.

We need to seize this moment to learn from this experience and possibly prevent catastrophe and property loss in the future. In talking with my neighbors, it is obvious that many homeowners remain unaware of a potentially lethal fire hazard that could be lurking inside many of our homes. Regardless of the cause of this latest fire (which started in the garage area, the official cause of origin has not been stated yet), this incident demands attention to the original electrical panels that were used when our homes were first built.  Pretty simple, you need to go out to your garage, or wherever your electrical panel is located and open the small metal door. Look for the brand name FEDERAL PACIFIC (FPE).

Don’t be one of the many people that “glaze over” as soon as any type of electrical conversation begins. Just know that these exact faulty panels were used across the country from 1950-1990 and unfortunately, many of our homes here in Park Place, being built around 1984 with these installed. You should call an electrician and begin planning replacement as soon as possible. Go ahead and google Federal Pacific breaker boxes, there is a ton of information, videos, etc. on this subject.

This is an issue that demands your attention and should not be ignored

Most surprisingly to me is that I have been here for 22 years or so, having several previous owners of the home, and after all the transactions, the electrical panel was never flagged by previous owners, home or township inspectors! From what I understand, you will still be granted a Certificate of Occupancy (C.O) to this day even if one of these firetraps is present!   Apparently, this is common knowledge among electricians, contractors, and inspectors, but homeowners remain oblivious. Something is clearly wrong with the system when the people that we entrust for our safety are not keeping us safe. The public needs to be made aware that it is up to us to remove and replace.

It wasn’t until I worked in the solar business that I learned about Federal Pacific panels and the bad breakers within. On day one of training we were taught that it was company procedure NOT to proceed with the project if a Federal Pacific panel was present in the home. We were told that these boxes were hazardous, they failed to trip when they were supposed to and were causing 2,000 fires a year nationally. The client was to be advised that the entire panel must be replaced in order to move forward with the project and even if they didn’t proceed with solar, for safety’s sake they should address the breaker box issue immediately with or without our company.

The first thing I did upon coming home from the training that night was roll up the garage door and open the panel and there it was, right on my own garage wall! Within a week, I had an electrician replace the panel with a new one and for a little extra, I even had him add a transfer switch so I could hook a generator up in case of a power outage.
I sleep much better now knowing that damn box is out of my house and my family, pets, and home are safe and sound!