Looks like we're off hunting dragons- again.
Yes, that first link consists of little more than marketing hyperbole and technical-sounding babble.
The second link .... well, UL had nothing to do with it.
Instead, let's look at some facts, before we go off into fantasy land.
To begin with, I point to that UL / NFPA / DOE study of a few years back, where they looked at the electrical systems of several 50-year old homes. Where damage was found, they also found major, basic wiring errors. For example, the use of improper splices.
What struck me in that examination of 'old' wiring was that every failing would have been prevented had the rules and practices of that period been followed- nothing since added to the NEC would have prevented them.
As for the use of boxes .... well, I'm simply amazed to see that Australia manages to do without boxes at their devices- yet doesn't seem to have an increased fire loss as a result.
The AFCI drama is worth noting, simply because those devices were presented to s in a manner very similar to the technique used in the first link. That is: lots of emotional appeal; blanket assertions of a 'major problem' and invented claims of losses; and pretty artwork.
Glowing connections? I've seen some awesome art regarding the use of wire nuts in coupling aluminum and copper wires. Alas, the pretty art never explained why such connections seem to be a problem only in the USA, and not in Canada.
I'm especially wary of European-based commentary regarding wire nuts. I don't think wire nuts were ever very popular in Europe; they seem to have gone direct from "Choc Block" connectors (sort of a terminal strip) to Wagos (pressure connectors).
Fires exist - but very few have any connection to the electrical system within the house. Once you look closer, and eliminate gross abuse of appliances (like setting a heater too close to flammables) and incompetent tampering (such as open splicing of thermostat wire to house wire, in order to add a ceiling fan), the number of 'electrical' fires dwindles to insignificance.
