Electrical safety

Electricity is basically safe, provided you follow a few common-sense rules. But that’s no cause for complacency. Get it wrong and you run the risk of starting a fire, getting an electric shock or even being electrocuted. Find out how to keep your children safe with electricity.

Did you know?

• Faulty electrics start up to one in six house fires. Causes include loose wiring, damaged cables and leads, and faulty or misused electrical appliances.
• Overloaded sockets can start house fires too – especially if one of the electrical appliances is a kettle, as they use lots of power.
• Water and electricity are a potentially deadly mix. But, in a recent survey, one in three parents admitted that their children didn’t know you should never touch electrical items with wet hands.
• Children can get an electric shock from using mains-powered electrical appliances in the bathroom, from touching exposed wiring or from using a metal knife to get stuck toast out of the toaster.
• It’s now difficult for a baby or toddler to get an electric shock from playing with a socket. Modern electrical sockets are designed to be safe.
• But socket covers are still useful as they stop young children plugging in heaters and getting burnt – or even starting a fire!
  
  

Safety tips

• Check electrical plugs, sockets and flexes for scorching or fraying. Get them repaired by a registered electrician if there’s a problem.
• One plug per socket is safest if you want to avoid an electrical fire.
• If you have to use an adaptor, use a ‘bar-type’ fused adaptor with a lead. This puts less strain on the socket than a ‘block-type’ adaptor you plug straight into the socket.
• Think twice before running your washing machine or dishwasher overnight. If there’s an electrical fault it could catch fire while your family is asleep.
• Turn off electrical appliances when you go out or go to bed. Unless they’re designed to be left on – like fridges and freezers.
• Unplug your mobile phone charger when you’re not using it, so it can’t overheat and cause a fire.
• Make sure children know that water and electricity don’t mix.
• Teach young people to keep mains-powered electrical appliances out of the bathroom, or anywhere else that wires could trail into water. This includes hairdryers, hair straighteners and plugged-in radios – even if they are plugged in outside the room.
  
  

Useful links

Overloaded electrical sockets can cause fires. But how much is too much?
Find out at www.dontgivefireahome.com

More information on fire safety

Detailed information on electrical safety – including leaflets to download, a DVD to view and a room-by-room safety guide – from the Electrical Safety Council www.electricalsafetycouncil.org.uk or enquiries@electricalsafetycouncil.org.uk.

To find a registered electrician in your area, visit www.electricalsafetycouncil.org.uk
or www.competentperson.co.uk

Children can visit www.switchedonkids.org.uk – the Electrical Safety Council’s website for children. Here they can search for hazards in a virtual house, play games and test their knowledge of electricity.

If you’ve found our safety information helpful, please consider making a donation to help us continue our work

© Child Accident Prevention Trust 2008