# Electrical experts: How dangerous are Federal Pacific (Stab-Lok) circuits?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-experts-how-dangerous-are-federal-pacific-stab-lok-circuits/839642>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 3, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-experts-how-dangerous-are-federal-pacific-stab-lok-circuits/839642 "2019-09-03T19:43:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-experts-how-dangerous-are-federal-pacific-stab-lok-circuits/839642/21 "2019-10-20T18:22:46Z")

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[Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/despite-previous-safety-concerns-this-circuit-breaker-is-still-in-homes/2018/05/08/8927af86-4ef9-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html)

> [@](#):
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> FPE Stab-Lok breakers may be responsible for as many as 2,800 fires, 13 deaths and $40 million in property damage every year.

[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Federal-Pacific-Circuit-Breakers-Investigation-Finds-Decades-of-Danger-171406921.html)

> [@](#):
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> After years of researching the issues with Federal Pacific circuit breakers, Aronstein believes they are responsible for approximately 2,000 fires nationwide each year.

[Angie’s List](https://www.angieslist.com/articles/are-federal-pacific-circuit-breaker-panels-safe.htm):

> [@](#):
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> An estimated 2,800 fires each year directly result from Federal Pacific panel breaker malfunction.

A number of similar cites are easily found. I think they are mostly referencing [this study](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6074935?tp=&arnumber=6074935&queryText=Estimating%2520Fire%2520Losses%2520Associated%2520With%2520Circuit%2520Breaker%2520Malfunction), although I don’t have access to it to see exactly what it says.

[Here is the Consumer Products Safety Commission report](https://www.cpsc.gov/content/commission-closes-investigation-of-fpe-circuit-breakers-and-provides-safety-information-for) from 1983. They closed their investigation without determining whether the panels were safe or not, which seems bizarre to me. I don’t fully understand what happened there.

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**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-experts-how-dangerous-are-federal-pacific-stab-lok-circuits/839642/22 "2019-10-22T15:00:16Z")

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Good to hear, **Pullin**. Glad we sent you on the right path. Now about some of your other life choices, we suggest… 😃

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