The ESC has kicked off Electrical Fire Safety Week in grand fashion with a representative from the group appearing on ITV’s Daybreak.

Director General of the Electrical Safety Council Phil Buckle appeared on the programme to talk about the common blunders many people perform that can cause dangerous fires.  The ESC is working closely this week with the government’s ‘Fire Kills’ campaign to highlight how dangerous electrical fires can be.

In order to get an idea of common ‘blunders’ people fall into, the ESC carried out an extensive survey of 4098 adults, finding that at least 75% of those surveyed have committed at least one of the listed blunders.

Here are some of the blunders, and the total percentage of those surveyed who were found to fall into that category:

  • At least 33% of those surveyed were found to be using their microwaves as makeshift benches, covering over the microwaves air vents with various items
  • 9% of surveyed people were found to have left the tumble dryer on overnight or unattended
  • A massive 44% of people were found to have blocked fridge/freezer air vents by neglecting to clean behind the fridge
  • 16% of people were found to overload adaptor sockets
  • 9% of those surveyed were found to be leaving electrical appliances on unattended and were only alerted by a burning smell

Phil Buckle of the ESC said:

"People think that they are behaving safely but the majority of people we surveyed had put themselves at risk by unknowingly making a safety blunder.

"Fires caused by misuse of appliances - the vast majority of which are electrical - are so easy to prevent but they will keep increasing unless people understand the simple things that can and do cause fires."

Vij Randeniya, president of the Chief Fire Officers Association, said: "We support the ESC's campaign and the partnership with local Fire and Rescue Services around the country.

"Thankfully, many fires can be prevented by taking a few simple safety steps, but the ESC's research has exposed a shocking lack of public awareness in this area."

Are You Electrically Safe?

As part of their survey the ESC has also been assessing how the public feels about how electrically safe their homes are.

The survey found that in general, around four out five (that’s 79%) of people they talked to were convinced that their home was in fact completely safe from the dangers of electricity.

At the same time, however, the ESC also found that only 49% of those surveyed have a Residual Current Device installed in their fuse boxes. These devices are an essential installation for preventing fires, as they trip out circuits if there is too much load on them.