Electrical Safety

How to avoid electrical fires

• Make sure an electrical appliance has a British or European safety mark when you buy it.
• Keep electrical leads and appliances away from water.
• Remember – one plug per socket. If you need more plugs than there are sockets, use a bar-type fuse adaptor.
• Unplug appliances at night or when you’re not using them to reduce the risk of fire – unless they are designed to be left on all the time (for example, a fridge or freezer).
• Keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order

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.
• Check here to see if your sockets are overloaded.

For more safety information visit https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

The risks with cables and leads include:

• Make sure the outer covering of all power leads is in good condition and replace if necessary if frayed or damaged.
• They shouldn’t be anywhere that they could be tripped over, or near water, cookers or other sources of heat.
• They should never be run under rugs or carpets where they can wear through without anyone noticing – position them elsewhere.

Appliances – you should never:

• Get them wet – this includes plugs and sockets, e.g. don’t put a vase of flowers on top of the TV.
• Leave them on at night – unless they are designed to be left on, e.g. freezers.
• Put anything in the microwave that is made of metal, or has a metallic finish or parts.
• Our advice is to never use tumble dryers and washing machines overnight; there is a risk of fire if these appliances develop a fault and if this happens when people are sleeping, the risk to life is far greater.