Electrical Fire Safety Week

Over half of all accidental house fires are caused by electricity and nine out of ten electrical fires are caused by faulty or misused electrical products.

Electrical Safety First works closely with the government each year to promote electrical fire safety within your home and to ensure you follow the simple steps to avoid suffering a devastating fire.

Kitchen Appliances

According to the latest Home Office Fire Statistics*, around 288 house fires are started every week by home appliances. Ovens and cookers are the biggest cause of domestic appliance fires; more than 8,000 fires were attributed to cookers or ovens last year alone.

There’s also been an increase in the number of fires started by washing machines and tumble dryers, causing a combined total of 1,292 fires in 2019.

It’s important to maintain your kitchen appliances to ensure they’re running as expected and to not let a minor fault turn into something potentially more dangerous. You can learn more about caring for your washing machine and cleaning your dishwasher with our handy guides.

Taking out appliance insurance with Home Emergency Assist can help to protect your vital kitchen appliances against accidental damage and mechanical/electrical breakdown against faults that may cause a fire to break out.

Faulty Electrics

According to the latest information from the gov.uk website, faulty electrics are responsible for around 4,000 fires in the home each year.

There are measures you can take to prevent this yourself:

• Make sure that you always buy your appliances and electrical goods from a reputable seller

• Don’t plug too many items into one socket as this can start a fire

• Turn your appliances off at the plug when you’re not using them; as well as saving you up to £86 a year in energy costs, it can significantly reduce the chance of a fire starting

Keep an eye out for the below signs that your home may have electrical problems, and always seek help from a registered electrician if you suspect your electrics are faulty:

• Your electrics trip regularly; it could be that you have too many appliances plugged into a single circuit or a short somewhere in the wiring

• Buzzing or discoloured light switches or outlets; these should never be hot to the touch or make buzzing noises

• Getting a slight shock from your switches or outlets; this could be a problem with the switch, the outlet itself or the device plugged in

• Sparking; if your circuit breaker or fuse box is sparking, call an electrician urgently

• Flickering or dimming lights; this can be a sign of faulty wiring or an overloaded circuit. Consult a qualified electrician to check your wiring

If you take out Enhanced Complete Home Emergency Cover with Home Emergency Assist, we’ll help if you suffer the failure of at least one complete electrical circuit within your home.

If you upgrade to our Premium plan, we’ll assist you to repair or replace any system after your supply meter which causes your main electrical wiring system to stop working.

To find out more about our Complete Home Emergency plans, boiler and central heating insurance or other types of home care cover plans, such as plumbing and drainage insurance and home appliances cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301 or get a quote online.