Heat Tapes, Electric
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares · CPSC Code 390
Down 55% over 5 years
The verdict
Heat Tapes, Electric carry a danger score of 24/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 64 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 55% over the last five years.
- 24/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 64
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 10.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 390 - last data year 2023.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 24/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for heat tapes, electric - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume64 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)10.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-55%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Heat Tapes, Electric (CPSC product code 390, in the Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares category) generate an estimated 64 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 767 ER-treated injuries across the 17-year span from 2007 to 2023. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 24/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 55% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2019 (268 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (16 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for heat tapes, electric is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 286 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (87 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 234 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 10.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 10 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how heat tapes, electric fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2023-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2007–2023)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 0 | 68 | |
| 5-14 | 12 | 0 | |
| 15-24 | 18 | 0 | |
| 25-34 | 144 | 0 | |
| 35-44 | 139 | 0 | |
| 45-54 | 16 | 0 | |
| 55-64 | 113 | 121 | |
| 65-74 | 55 | 0 | |
| 75+ | 81 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Other | |
| All Parts Body | Electric Shock | |
| Face | Foreign Body | |
| Foot | Avulsion | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Arm | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Arm | Fracture | |
| Ear | Foreign Body |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
70 YOM AWOKE TO SMOKE IN HIS HOUSE. FOUND A FIRE IN HIS GARAGE DUE TO HEAT TAPE. SUSTAINED BURNS TO RIGHT HAND AND BACK OF HEAD TRYING TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. +SOOT AROUND HIS MOUTH AND NOSE, COHGB 2.0, ?FD DX SMOKE INHALATION, PARTIAL-THICKNESS BURNS
25YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR CO LT ARM PAIN ELECTRIC SHOCK PT WAS SETTING UP A SNAKE ENCLOSURE AND WAS SHOCKED CO PAIN IN LT ARM STATES WIRE WAS NOT INSULATED NEXT TO HEAT TAPE AND LT ARM TOUCHED HEAT TAPE WHILE SHEW AS STANDING ON A METAL STAND AND WAS SHOCKED DX: ELECTRIC SHOCK
78YOM CUT FINGER ON METAL ELECTRICAL TAPE WHILE TRYING TO HAND CURTAINS AT HOME DX FINGER LACERATION
20 YOM WALKING ANAD TRIPPED OVER ROLL OF DUCT TAPE AND FELL INJ ANKLE DX: SPRAIN ANKLE
49YOM HAD A PIECE OF ELECTRICAL TAPE ATTACHED TO LOWER ARM AND PULLED IT OFF AND TOOK THE SKIN ABRASION TO FOREARM
8YOM- PT WAS CUTTING ELECTRICAL TAPE CUTTING LEFT PINKY.DX- LEFT PINKY FINGER LACERATION.
2 YOF PUT ELECTRICAL TAPE INTO NOSE. FOREIGN BODY, NOSE.
DX SUPERFICIAL LAC, L INDEX FINGER: 56YOF C/O FINGER GET' CAUGHT INBLADE OF AUTOMATIC/ELEC TAPED DISPENSER; W ATTEMPT TO PUSH TAPE IN
CUT FOOT ON RUSTY HEATER. DX- AVULSION L FOOT #
ELECTRICAL TAPE IN EAR. DX FB EAR
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to heat tapes, electric on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are heat tapes, electric?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, heat tapes, electric have a danger score of 24/100 (low risk). An estimated 64 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from heat tapes, electric?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 286 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from heat tapes, electric increasing or decreasing?
Down 55% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for heat tapes, electric injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 234 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by heat tapes, electric?
Of all ER visits involving heat tapes, electric, approximately 10.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (89.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with heat tapes, electric?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 24/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 55-64 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
