In the April issue of Advocate Lake Highlands, I wrote a story about residents in that neighborhood who suffered home fires caused by Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok electrical panels. I wrote the story because two families in LH, that I knew of, lost everything they owned because they didn’t replace the panels, which costs about $2,000. (One victim didn’t know she should replace it, the other simply put it off).
When I interviewed him for the story, Milestone Electric owner Gus Antos said that hundreds of homes built in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s contain these types of panels. That means many East Dallas homes probably contain them. Someone out there may have even lost his or her home to a fire caused by an FPE panel.
When fire investigators find electrical fires, they only note that it is an “electrical fire”, but they seldom track what type of panel caused the fire, so there’s no way of knowing if any East Dallas fires were cause by FPE panels … that is, unless you tell us.
If you’ve had a fire in the East Dallas area caused by an FPE panel, we’d like to hear from you. I’d also like to know, if you have one in your home, do you intend to replace it? Please comment below, or send us an email to chughes@advocatemag.com.
