The author first notes that the cause of a fire cannot be considered electrical unless it stems from a factor in the building's electrical system. This does not include the misuse of or a flaw in an electrical appliance. There are usually three places in an electrical system where a fire will start. These are places where the system will create enough heat to ignite material next to it. The places where electrical fires are likely to start are the fuse box or electrical panel, an electrical receptacle, and wiring inside of the wall. Within these areas, factors usually involved in fires are fuses, breakers, cartridges, the deterioration of a receptacle, joints, connections, and splices. This article divides the causes of electrical fires into three categories. In one category, fire is due to wiring that is so physically damaged that it causes a short; in another category, too much demand is made on wiring in carrying current to the other end; and in a third category, a wiring connection becomes either contaminated or loose. Various factors in these categories of electrical-fire causes are discussed.