What are the top 5 common causes of fires?

1. Cooking appliances

It’s always a good idea to have a small fire extinguisher and fire blanket in the kitchen. Cooking appliances cause over 40% of accidental house fires.

Cookers, ovens, rings and hot plates, grills and toasters are the common sources of ignition.

2. Electrical

Electrical failure of a component of the main electrical installation or fixed equipment is the second highest cause of fires. This is why an EICR is so important, it may not prevent all fires but can highlight any problems.

Wiring, cabling and plugs (especially if overloaded), heating equipment such as thermostats or fixed heaters are the common sources of ignition.

3. Electrical appliances

This runs a very close 3^rd place to the main electrical installation and includes all white goods you can find in the kitchen such as dishwashers, tumble dryers and fridges. Other problems arise through overloading extension leads and adapters with too much equipment, or overcharging devices.

4. Smoking related materials

Cigarettes and cigarette lighters are on the decline, and with the improvements in the fire safety of furniture, this category has dropped to 4 place for the cause of a fire. However, it remains the highest cause of fires with a fatality, so smoking really does kill.

5. Matches and Candles

Taking 5^th place are matches and candles and its easy to see why they can cause a fire. But did you know that candles that are in a glass jar can explode? Never leave a candle unattended and make sure there is no combustible material around them.

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