Fire officers say that whilst nearly every type of fire has reduced significantly during the last decade, electrical incidents have stubbornly refused to drop.
There has been a rise in electrical fires across South Yorkshire. Numbers have risen from 150 and 165 in previous years to 190 house fires involving electrics.
Electricity is involved in about two thirds of all accidental house fires.
Household appliances like washing machines and dryers are the most common culprits of accidental house fires. But sometimes fires are caused by faulty goods, which could be small items like mobile chargers
Fire officials are concerned about the growing problem and have launched a safety video to try to educate people about the most common risks.
Head of community safety Kevin Ronan, issued advice to stop fires and went on to say: “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 releasing this film, we hope we can give people the knowledge to check their own electrics and hopefully prevent a serious fire.”
Regular PAT testing of devices, avoiding cheap counterfeit appliances and turning off chargers when not in use can all be useful in avoiding electrical appliance fires.
