A relatively new device developed by a Maryland-based company can prevent devastating home electrical fires — and many homeowners can get the technology for free through their insurance.
Home electrical fires cause hundreds to lose their lives and millions in property damage every year in the U.S.
"I was smelling smoke, but I didn't know what it was," Suitland resident Debra Henderson told News4 while recounting the morning in January when she woke up to something burning at her home.
She searched upstairs and downstairs, but found nothing.
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"Just trying to find something. I just knew something was happening," she said.
Then, they heard it.
"And you could hear the crackling," she said.
The crackling sound came from a frayed wire to a light switch. It wasn’t long before smoke and fire filled their home.
Henderson and her daughter made it out safely. But the damage was so extensive, they've lived at a hotel ever since.
"It’s just been a long road just to get back home," she said.
Electrical fires like the one in Henderson's home are one of the most common, with more than 50,000 every single year in the U.S., according to the Electrical Safety Foundation. That's one fire every 10 minutes.
Nearly 500 people die and $1.3 billion in property is damaged every year due to electrical fires, the Electrical Safety Foundation said.
Whisker Labs in Germantown, Maryland, says it's aiming to change that with "Ting," a small sensor that can detect electric hazards before a fire even starts.
Since introducing Ting in 2020, Whisker Labs has documented more than 15,000 cases in which Ting has identified and resolved hazards before a fire could start, the company states online.
How does Ting work?
"You plug it in, connect it to WiFi. It takes 30 million electrical measurements every second," Co-Founder and CEO of Whisker Labs Bob Marshall said. "And if there’s arcing going on anywhere in the house, sparking, it will give you an alert on your phone. It will notify that you have a problem."
Homeowners are then connected to a safety team engineer with Ting who walks them through the problem. If the company deems a homeowner needs an electrician, Ting provides a one-time credit toward labor costs of up to $1,000.
The majority of issues triggering Ting stem from faulty or frayed cords connected to coffee pots, heating blankets, old switches and outlets, Marshall said.
The frayed wire that caused the fire in Henderson's home caused more than $230,000 in damage.
Will my home insurance cover the cost of Ting?
Some insurance companies are so convinced Ting could save them millions of dollars in fire claims that they’re giving the devices away to customers for free, and even paying for the monthly service monitoring charge.
Whisker Labs says more than 20 leading insurance carriers provide Ting at no cost.
StateFarm, Nationwide, Pure Insurance and Westfield are among the providers listed on Ting's website.
The company recommends reaching out to your insurance provider directly to find out.
What if Ting isn't covered by my insurance?
Homeowners can purchase the device and subscription for under $100 for the first year. Every year after that it’s $49.
But before subscribing, call your insurance company and ask them if they offer or would consider offering Ting to their policyholders.
Since Ting is relatively new, insurance companies are still in the process of learning more about it and connecting with Whisker Labs to possibly offer it to their clients.
