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Householders warned about the risk of fires starting near electrical intake equipment25 January 2012

As part of its electrical fire safety campaigning, the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) is supplying East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS) with labels and leaflets that warn householders not to store combustible materials close to any electrical intake equipment in their homes.

The ESC's Senior Campaigns Manager, Lorraine Carney, said:

"The labels and leaflet will be offered to householders by ESFRS fire prevention officers during their home safety visits. The warning is particularly appropriate where, for example, the electrical intake equipment (service head, meter and consumer unit) is in a cupboard which is used to store items such as coats, cleaning materials and other items that can be easily ignited. Fires in under-stairs cupboards are particularly dangerous, as the means of escape from upstairs can be cut off."

Mark Hobbs, Protection Legislation & Enforcement Manager for ESFRS, said:

"We welcome this important initiative that will highlight the potential fire hazard that can be created by storing combustible items in close proximity to electrical intake equipment. As with other fire safety hazards in the home, people are safer by knowing the risks they may be inadvertently creating and what simple practical measures can be taken to avoid them.

"For further information on electrical and other fire hazards, along with common sense safety advice, we would like to highlight the Service's 'Black Museum' where you can find case histories and see images from actual fires."

This joint initiative with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) followed an investigation by East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service into the cause of a fatal fire in Eastbourne, and then into a number of other fires in domestic and similar properties in their area, that had started in the vicinity of electrical intake equipment. The most likely cause of the fires was found to be resistance heating at deteriorating cable terminations and fuse contacts.

Mark also added:

"Whilst the number of such incidents is relatively small, some have caused real risk to life due to the nature and circumstances of how and when the fires occur (often at night when people are asleep, combined with the typical location of an electrical intake being near the means of escape from a property).

"Electrical equipment is designed to contain the thermal effects of faults. However, the experiences of Fire & Rescue Services shows that overheating can and does ignite combustible materials that are in close proximity to it.

"An incident we attended in Hailsham as recently as the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 25th January) was a timely reminder of this. Our crews led a woman in her 80s to safety after an electrical intake fire had broken out in her home. Thankfully ESFRS had previously fitted smoke detectors at the property, otherwise the potential consequences could have been far worse."

In collaboration with the electrical supply industry, the ESC has also offered to part-fund a supply of the labels for use by meter operators, on a voluntary basis, when visiting homes to replace electricity meters. This wider electrical fire safety campaign will run up to 2019, by which time the electricity meters in all 26 million homes in Great Britain are due to have been replaced under the smart meter programme.

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