Did you know that electricity is a major cause of accidental fires in homes due to product misuse and faulty appliances or installations?
Across England there were a total of 18,375 electrical fires in 2015-16, causing 2,448 fatalities and injuries. That’s an average of 47 each week and seven a day.
White Goods
Domestic electrical white goods, such as dishwashers, tumble dryers, and fridge freezers are one of the leading causes of electrical fires in England. Making small changes in your daily routine can reduce the risk of a fire starting in your home. This involves not leaving appliances running while the house is unoccupied or when everyone is asleep.
The Electrical Safety Council has created an easy to use calculator where you can plug in some typical household appliances to see the effect on the load. The calculator is intended to help you understand how you can avoid overloading your sockets and reduce the risk of fire. To use the calculator please visit our electrical safety page.
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service have some simple tips to help you use the white goods in your homes safely:
Phil Buckle, Chief Executive at Electrical Safety First commented: “Electricity is the cause of over half of all domestic house fires in England each year. Faulty appliances and installations along with the misuse of electricity are amongst the major causes of these electrical fires, leading to avoidable deaths and injuries. With more than five fires a day in England caused by white goods, the Government needs to take immediate action to reduce this figure.”
Alan Gilson, Community Safety Manager said: “A high number of fires in Devon & Somerset are caused by the misuse of electrical appliances and these can be easily prevented. A house fire can have devastating and long term effects, not only destroying belongings and memories but also putting you and your loved ones at risk. We are urging everybody to follow our simple advice that will help them to stay safe in their homes. ”
Have you checked the appliances of an older or vulnerable person?
Almost half of all fire deaths in the UK involve people over the age of 60 and by the time someone reaches 80 they are 10 times more likely to die in a fire than someone under 30. Checking the appliance of someone who is older or vulnerable may identify any issues with their appliances ensuring they are protected from the risks of an incident occurring.
To request free Home Safety advice call free on: now 0800 0502999. For any other fire safety advice, contact the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue helpline on: 01392 872288 or visit our websitewww.dsfire.gov.uk
Hi, I am Colin Slade, I am the New Business Manager here at thebestof Exeter and I handle lots of the PR and News stories for our clients
The following Cookies are used on this Site. Users who allow all the Cookies will enjoy the best experience and all functionality on the Site will be available to you.
You can choose to disable any of the Cookies by un-ticking the box below but if you do so your experience with the Site is likely to be diminished.
In order to interact with this site.
To help us to measure how users interact with content and pages on the Site so we can make
things better.
To show content from Google Maps.
To show content from YouTube.
To show content from Vimeo.
To share content across multiple platforms.
To view and book events.
To show user avatars and twitter feeds.
To show content from TourMkr.
To interact with Facebook.
To show content from WalkInto.