-=> CHARLES ANGELICH wrote to ALL <=-

 CA> It's occurred to me when looking at home computer desks covered
 CA> in pages of printouts that the combination of all those loose
 CA> sheets of paper in an area with multiple electrical outlets and
 CA> appliances is a bad thing waiting to happen.

 CA> Not a firemarshal nor fireman and have no statistics on the
 CA> frequency of home fires caused this way but it just looks like
 CA> a bad thing when you think about it for awhile?

I've got a 4 outlet surge protector and a 6 outlet power strip
pluged into a regular two outlet box.
All ten power access points are in use by the computer,
monitor, printer, tape backup, external modem, small 
stereo for the sound card, VCR, T.V., clock and 
active T.V. antenna.
Thing is all the load is distributed and unlikely to exceed 
5 1/2 amps in total at any given time at the outlet.
The surge protector is clear of debris as is the power strip.
You do however raise a valid point for some who may have
poor connections thus a heat generating voltage drop
somewhere in that tangle. 

Right about now it's the space heaters
going on that is running the fire department around these parts.
Personally heating only the bedroom with a fairly conservative
electrical space heater is my biggest risk and I'd rate that one
way down the line as it's not a little one drawing 1,500
watts with glowing nichrome strips but about five feet of 
finned heat strip at something like 875 watts.
Hey it's doesn't heat quick or all that much but living in Florida
I don't need much, heat last month added 10 dollars to my
electric bill. Really solid house wiring is another good thing where 
I'm at... got a good look at it repairing stuff when some moron
prior tenant really messed up the outlets looking for a non-problem.
I corrected all the problems, lack of grounds, reverse polarity,
dead outlets, ect. after discovering someone hadn't completely
seated the _safety fuse_ in a slightly damaged socket
intended for these amperage rated and differently tapered
devices.

 
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