I have read a number of times that one of the largest causes of electrical fires is extension cords. As a consequence of this, we have requirements that every location along a wall be within 6 feet of a receptacle, so that no extension cord is needed to reach it. We have the 24" rule for countertops. Now we're adding "AFCIs on every residential 15/20A circuit." Etc.
I have read posts by Joe T. indicating that fire officials hate extension cords with great passion, and will do all that they can to minimize/eliminate them.
All of which begs what seems like it should be an obvious question: If we're going to create all these regulations to mitigate the effects of faulty extension cords,
why don't we just require that extension cords be safer???95+% of the extension cords in the store are total crud. It's not really a mystery that they cause fires. (I remember a thread in one of the photo forums here, of a "surge strip" in a fire station was seriously blackened from overheating. When I asked why the breaker hadn't tripped, the response was essentially that a 15 amp power strip isn't actually intended to operate safely at the limits of a 15 or 20 amp circuit.
)
So what's the deal here? It's clearly recognized that cheap extension cords are a dangerous problem. And we don't seem to be shy about creating laws and regulations to deal with the situation, because fire regulations and the NEC already have a number of requirement designed to mitigate the extension cord problem. So why don't we do the obvious thing, and have requirements at the UL level that extension cords actually be robust, and actually be up to the task of operating safely on 15 and 20 amp circuits?
