Electrical fires rising

Last year saw 190 electrical house fires in the region - up from 165 in 2014 and 150 the year in 2013.

Fire officers say that whilst nearly every type of fire has reduced significantly during the last decade, thanks to safety visits and better awareness of risks, electrical incidents have stubbornly refused to drop. The fire service has now launched a campaign to make people aware of the dangers of common household applicances, which are among the most common culprits in about two thirds of accidental house fires. The campaign also revealed that the kitchen is the most likely room in the house where an electrical fire will start.

Head of community safety, Trevor Bernard, said: “This isn’t about scaremongering, but about making sure that consumers have all the available safety information. The vast majority of electrical goods are manufactured to very high safety standards, but sometimes if they are misused or if there is a fault with the device they can start a fire; these could be small items like mobile chargers or big things like washing machines and dryers.

“The simple truth is that homes have more small electrical devices in them than probably any time in our history - from tablets and mobile phones, to e-cigarettes and games consoles. Unfortunately, we can’t get round everyone’s home to check the safety of their electrics for them. But by raising awareness of the biggest safety issues. we hope we can give people the knowledge to check their own electrics and hopefully prevent a serious fire.”

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