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Find out what to check for to ensure your appliances don't put you, your family or housemates at risk from fire.

The Electrical Safety Council (ESC)

Electrical Safety Council.

The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) - External Linkis a UK charity committed to reducing deaths and injuries caused by electrical accidents at home and at work.

As well as running general awareness campaigns and events to help educate consumers about the dangers of electricity, the ESC also runs campaigns and initiatives covering specific areas of risk such as product safety, fire safety and child safety.

The ESC provides free electrical safety publications and leaflets. You can view the full range here (www.esc.org.uk/public).

For more information, please contact the ESC:

Address: Unit 331, Great Guilford Business Square, 30 Great Guilford Street, London SE1 0HS

Web: www.esc.org.uk

Tel: 0870 040 0561

Fax: 0870 040 0560

Email:enquiries@esc.org.uk

The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) summaries this on its website:

"Most of us take electricity for granted. We use it every day and forget that it can be dangerous if we do not treat it with respect. Of reported fires, over 19% are caused by electrical faults and a further 25% are caused by people not using electrical equipment and appliances properly. So, it is important that we do all we can to reduce the risk of a fire in our home caused by an electrical problem."

Electrical Appliance fire safety

Fuses

Electrical appliances, plugs and cables that are old or poorly wired can be a real danger.

Just because there's no flame does not mean there's no fire risk.

Find out what to check for to ensure your appliances don't put you, your family or housemates at risk from fire.

Electric cooking appliances are the biggest cause of accidental dwelling fires in England. Fire Statistics, UK 2007 reported that nearly 14,000 fires started due to 'electric cookers', 'microwave cookers' or 'other electric cooking appliances'.

Residual Current Device (RCD)

The Electrical Safety Council, through their campaign, 'Plug Into Safety' - External Link, is encouraging homeowners to use RCDs to protect against dangerous electric shocks and reduce the risk of electrical fires.

An RCD is a sensitive device that quickly turns the electricity off when danger arises to reduce the risk of death or serious injury. RCD protection is particularly important when using electrical equipment outdoors.

What to check for on your electrical appliances

There are particular danger signs to look out for on all electrical items you have around your home.

If you think something needs fixing or changing, do it straight away.

Plugs and sockets

For plugs and sockets, keep an eye out for the following:

  • hot plugs or sockets, scorch marks, fuses that often blow, or flickering lights - they are all are signs of loose wiring or other electrical problems
  • badly wired plugs - any coloured wires sticking out could come loose and debris could also get into the plug
  • overloaded sockets - plugging too many electrical appliances into one socket can lead to overheating

Cables and leads

The risks with cables and leads include:

  • getting frayed and damaged - make sure the outer covering of all power leads is in good condition and replace if necessary
  • being badly positioned - they shouldn't be anywhere that they could be tripped over, or near water, cookers or other sources of heat
  • running them under rugs or carpets where they can wear through without anyone noticing - position them elsewhere

Appliances

Electric blankets - safe use

For electrical appliances, you should never:

  • get them wet - this includes plugs and sockets, so don't put a vase of flowers on top of the TV, for example
  • leave them on at night - unless they are designed to be left on, like freezers
  • put anything in the microwave that is made of metal, or has a metallic finish or parts

Keep electrical items in good working order

Electric heaters - safe use

Follow the guidelines below to make sure your electrical items are safe to use.

Maintenance

Electrical appliances, especially ones that run at high speeds and contain motors, like washing machines, should be serviced once a year by a qualified electrician.

Plugs, sockets and cables

Plugs, sockets and cables also need to be used correctly, you should:

  • make sure you can't see any coloured wires between the plug and the power lead - change the plug properly
  • make sure the wires are held firmly in place inside the plug
  • use sockets safely - it's better to use a bar adaptor (multi board) on a lead than a block adaptor
  • only use one adaptor per socket - don't plug one adaptor into another and try to keep to one plug per socket

Fuses

When you're fitting or replacing a fuse, it's important to use the right fuse for the appliance to make sure the fuse doesn't overheat.

Check the manual or look for a sticker on the appliance to find out its wattage and then use the correct fuse:

  • for appliances up to 700 watts, use a 3 amp fuse
  • for appliances between 700 and 1,000 watts, use a 5 amp fuse
  • for appliances more than 1,000 watts, use a 13 amp fuse
Extension leads and adaptors have a limit on how many amps they can take, so be careful not to overload them, to reduce the risk of fire.

Dealing with an electrical fire

What to do if there's a fire

If there is an electrical fire, pull the plug out, or switch off the power at the fuse box - if it's safe to do so. Sometimes this can stop the fire immediately.

Never use water on an electrical fire, and don't take any risks with your safety - get out, stay out and call 999.

This page was last updated on 11 February 2013
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