Appraisal of household safety practices of extension cord usage in Ho Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the level of awareness of safety precautions in the use of extension cords in Ho Municipality in Ghana. The relevance of this study is to provide an understanding of the awareness level of safety measures likely to lead to a significant reduction in incidents of domestic fire outbreaks when using an extension cord. A cross-sectional research was carried out in the Ho Municipality between February and April 2022. Six hundred and one (601) individuals were chosen from houses using a random selection method. A standardised questionnaire was used to gather data, and then entered and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) V.16. Descriptive statistics, Binary logistic regression analysis with a 0.05 p-value and the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI), Relative Importance Index (RII), and the Sample T-test were used to examine the significance of connections. Among the participants, there is a low level of awareness of extension cord ratings and standard labels from autonomous testing facilities. The participants’ knowledge of awareness was significantly related to gender; [0.722 (95% (CI): 1.476 – 2.869), p = 0.001 < (0.05)]. Again, most participants overload the extension cord during usage and practice poor safety measures that could result in a fire outbreak. The study suggests that users should purchase extension cords that have been endorsed by an autonomous testing laboratory and fully be educated on the safety procedures that will aid in safeguarding lives and property by both government and non-governmental agencies.

IMPACT STATEMENT

There is currently a known scarcity of data in the literature on household consumer extension cord usage that contributes significantly to home electrical fires. Extension cords provide temporary power to devices or equipment. They don’t replace outlets and wiring permanently. This paper aims to assess the level of awareness of safety precautions in the use of extension cords. This study’s relevance is to understand the awareness level of safety measures likely to reduce extension cord-related domestic fires. Results show that there is a low level of awareness of extension cord ratings and standard labels from autonomous testing facilities. Most participants overloaded the extension cord and used poor safety measures, which could cause a fire. Only buy extension cords that have been authorised by an independent testing laboratory, such as the underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) and make sure the label is stamped. The testing laboratory issues an endorsement or posting of the extension cord, proving that it fulfils relevant requirements.

Keywords:

• Appraisal
• extension cord
• fire outbreak
• safety precaution
• safety practices
• Ho Municipality

Reviewing Editor:

• Qingsong Ai, Wuhan University of Technology, China

Subjects:

• Environmental Management
• Electrical & Electronic Engineering
• Engineering Education
• Technology

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the field assistants who gathered data and the study participants who graciously answered our questions. We would also like to thank the heads of families who agreed to be interviewed and allowed inspections to be conducted for the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon a reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Michael W. Apprey

Michael Wellington Apprey is currently a Senior Lab Instructor at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ho Technical University (HTU) Ghana. He holds BEng. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Accra Institutes of Technology since 2018. His research interests are Health and Safety, Control Automation, Power Systems, Electronics and Communications, Power Line Communications and Telecommunications.