Here are the five most common causes of electrical fires in homes:
Faulty Sockets / Appliances
Most electrical fires are caused by faulty electrical plug sockets and dated appliances that have been around for a while. Don’t use an appliance with a worn cord which could send heat onto combustible surfaces like floors, curtains, and rugs that can start a fire. Removing the grounding plug from a cord so it can be used in an electrical socket can also cause a fire, the reason appliances have the extra prong is so they can be only used in outlets that can handle the extra amount of electricity that these appliances draw.
Light Fixtures & Fittings
Lamps, light bulbs, and light fixtures and fittings are another common reason for electrical fires. Installing a bulb with a wattage too high for the lamps and light fixtures is a leading cause of electrical fires. Get a professional to check the maximum recommended bulb wattage on any lighting fixture or lamp and never exceed this amount. Putting materials like cloth over a lampshade is also a cause, the material heats up and ignites, causing fire.
Extension Leads
Appliances should be plugged directly into outlet and not plugged into an extension lead for any length of time. Only use extension cords as a temporary measure. If you do not have the appropriate type of plug sockets for your appliances, get an electrician in to your home to install new ones – a much safer alternative.
Portable Heaters
Many times people put these types of heaters too close to combustible surfaces such as curtains, beds, clothing, chairs, sofas and rugs. Coil space heaters are especially dangerous due to the coils becoming so hot that they will almost instantly ignite any nearby flammable surface. If you do use portable heaters, use the radiator-type that diffuse heat over the entire surface of the appliance. These are less likely to ignite flammable items, but should still be kept away from them.
Outdated Wiring Systems
If a home is over 20 years old, it may not have the wiring capacity to handle the increased amounts of electrical appliances in today’s average, such as computers, televisions, games consoles, kitchen gadgets etc. Breakers should be triggered when circuits get overloaded by too much electricity, but outdated breaker boxes often have worn connectors that do not work, causing the system to overload and start an electrical fire. Get a professional to upgrade your electrical system for maximum safety.

𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘰-𝘪𝘵-𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺.
𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.
𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺--𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴.
𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴.
𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘹--𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴.
𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘍𝘪𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦/𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸.
𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥.
𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯!
𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓪 𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓛𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓻𝓲𝔁 𝓢𝓸𝓵𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓘𝓷𝓬. 
𝓦𝓮'𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓲𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷!