Since 2003, the Electrical Connection IBEW/NECA partnership has supported Rebuilding Together, donating more than $600,000 in labor and materials to make electrical improvements to approximately 375 homes for low-income and elderly St. Louisans. These homeowners have been vulnerable to “fly-by-night” operators who lack electrical skills and usually wind up making homes unsafe electrically.

What’s most interesting is that the sales pitch by “fly-by-night” operators is not just targeting unsuspecting residential customers in poor communities, but in communities with all levels of income. One such case provided the Electrical Connection with the opportunity to produce a public service video to encourage residents to only entrust electrical installations to licensed electrical contractors. Entitled “A True Story,” it is worth viewing as a primer of what to look for when evaluating electrical services for the home.

It seems fairly obvious that electricity is sufficiently complex not to entrust to any professed “repairman.” But the siren song of savings for a “quick fix” from so-called handymen can be so alluring that common sense is ignored. What they leave behind in their wake is code violations, incomplete work and dangerous fire hazards.

The safety of your family should be of primary concern. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), fire departments respond each year to an estimated 47,820 U.S. home fires involving electrical failure or malfunction. These fires result in 455 deaths, 1,518 injuries and $1.48 billion in direct property damage.

The best protection from the hazards of electrical fires is to hire electrical contractors that strictly follow the National Electrical Code — the recognized standard for safe electrical installations. It makes even more sense when you consider that when it comes time to sell your home, any reputable home inspector is going to notice code violations that will need to be fixed. Why live in unsafe conditions when you’ll ultimately have to pay a skilled electrical contractor to make repairs to sell your home? And yet, countless homeowners still default to the cheap “quick fix” that can endanger their family and will ultimately have to be repaired.

To help homeowners make better decisions on electrical work, the Electrical Connection provides a listing of licensed electrical contractors on its website. It lists contractors who are members of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. These contractors employ the highly skilled and safe members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local One, who have a foundation of training at the St. Louis Electrical Industry Training Center. For more than 60 years, it has trained the vast majority of skilled electricians and communication technicians who perform residential, commercial, industrial and all types of electrical installations throughout the state of Missouri.

Keep your home electrically safe. Hire only licensed electrical contractors.