This week is Electrical Fire Safety Week, the week where Electrical Safety First works with the Government’s Fire Kills Campaign to promote fire safety in the home.
Did you know that over half of all accidental house fires are caused by electricity? A huge 90% of these electrical fires are caused by electrical products.
We’ll go through 3 causes of electrical fires and how you can prevent them from happening.
Faulty electrical work and equipment
The top cause of electrical fires is faulty electrical work and equipment. Faulty outlets and devices, badly-installed wiring and overloaded circuits are the top factors.
When you employ an electrician to do work for you, make sure you check that they have the proper qualifications. Choose an electrician that is registered with a professional trade body like NAPIT. This will help to prevent faults with wiring and outlets.
Watch out for product recall notices
Make sure you look out for product recall notices. Electrical Safety First often publishes these on their website. This will help you to stay safe from electrical fires caused by faulty devices.
Cooking appliance malfunctions
As well as faulty electrical work, a big cause of fires is malfunctioning cooking appliances. It’s often because we forget that these appliances need looking after.
Make sure you keep your oven, hobs, microwaves and any other appliance clean. Then, ensure you get them tested regularly to ensure that they are safe.
Misued cords and sockets
Additionally, it’s not uncommon for people to overload their sockets and extension cords. Do you put extension cord after extension cord into one another? This can be very dangerous.
This Electrical Fire Safety Week, make sure you check that you’re not overloading your electrical supply. Electrical Safety First has a calculator on their website that shows you whether you’re overloading your sockets.
How to prevent electrical fires
In addition to some of the points above, there are some other things you can do to prevent electrical fires:
Be sensible with sockets and devices
Don’t use lots of extension cords in one socket. Also, make sure you don’t leave devices on unattended.
This includes mobile phones and e-cigarettes, which are notorious for being fire hazards.
Take away flammable materials
Whether you think it’s a fire hazard or not, keep flammable items away from electrical appliances. This is especially important for cooking appliances.
Because electrical appliances produce heat, materials lying around them can easily catch fire.
Hire a reputable electrician
Finally, it’s important that you hire a trusted electrician to do any electrical work for you. Always compare a few electricians before choosing on, and make sure you check their qualifications and reviews from previous customers.
This Electrical Fire Safety Week, make sure you are sensible with your electrical appliances to keep your family safe. And if you’ve not got a smoke detector in your home already, make it a priority to get one now.
If you need an electrician to make sure your home’s electrics are safe, fill in the form below to get quotes from up to 4 electricians.