A bright idea by County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service aims to help prevent electrical fires this Christmas.
The fire service is the first in the country to hand out an ‘Amp Selecta™’ as part of its free Home Fire Safety Checks.
The Amp Selecta™ is a simple to use guide, which shows the levels of electrical current used by common household appliances. The design of the guide, in the form of a wheel, provides a quick and easy way to check if you are at risk of overloading the sockets in your home. It shows the power used by everyday electrical appliances so you can work out if you may be putting yourself at risk.
Andrew Allison, community safety manager for Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: “Fires caused by faulty or misused electrical appliances account for around 40 to 50 per cent of all house fires. We will be handing out the Amp Selecta™ during all of our free home fire safety checks to help people understand when they are at risk of overloading their sockets.
“Many people are unaware that each socket can only provide 13 amps, even when you use an extension lead. Most of us probably use a lot of our sockets anyway, but we chose this time of year for this launch because new games consoles, lights for the trees and all sorts of extra gadgets will be appearing in our homes. We already have a ‘Socket Overload Calculator’ on our website and this is another tool to compliment that. We worked with a local company, Auto Items Ltd. to help them develop this and we think it will make a big difference to the safety of people in our area.”
People are urged to take extra care and stay safe by:
• Testing smoke alarms weekly. If you haven’t got any fitted then contact the fire and rescue service.
• Not cooking after drinking alcohol. If you’ve been to a party then get a take-away.
• Taking extra care when cooking – distractions can mean it’s difficult to concentrate.
To arrange a FREE Home Fire Safety Check with FREE smoke alarms call County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service on 0191 3755561 or visit the Service website www.ddfire.gov.uk where you will also find more safety tips to help you and your loved ones stay safe.
Pictured from left: Andrew Allison and Dave Yews from Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service with an enlarged version of the new ‘Amp Selecta™’.
