Home – a place that you feel comfortable, secure and safe. But how safe is your home? Although it might feel like the least dangerous place that you could be, your home is where you are statistically most likely to have an accident[i]. Accidents in the house cost UK taxpayers a whopping £45.63 billion annually, with an estimated 2.7 million people having to have home-related injuries treated at the hospital.
You may be wondering what you can do to reduce these numbers, stop accidents happening in your own home and make it safer overall. Read on and use our ultimate home safety checklist to avoid your family adding to the accident-at-home statistics.
We all have a generally good idea about fire safety, and it is something most of us have had drilled into our heads from a very young age at both school and home. Your risk of having a house fire is statistically quite low – with only 1% of households in the UK having a fire across 2016 and 2017[ii]. Despite this, it’s vital not to adopt an ‘it could never happen to me’ mind frame when it comes to fire.
These are the top fire hazards that could be present in your home.
Although you may think your home is up to scratch when it comes to fire safety, there may be several things you can do to make it even safer.
Before going to bed, make these quick checks:
Electrical safety is as important as fire safety, though people are often not mindful of all the risks. Electricity is something we take for granted and it’s easy to forget how dangerous it can be, and the risk of injury or death it carries when we aren’t careful around it[iv].
As well as looking out for hazards, you should carry out the following safety checks.
Never take risks with electricity. If something seems wrong with an electrical item, don’t take any chances, stop using it straight away.
Gas can be an invisible killer. Although some UK households are switching to fully electric systems, gas is present in 85% of British homes, with 23 million houses connected to the gas grid[v]. This makes it important to know the hazards of gas and how to make sure you home is safe.
If you smell gas OR suspect that there is a leak leave the house straight away. Once you are clear of your home, you should call the National Gas Emergency Service on this number for assistance 0800 111 999.
We hope the above advice will help you to assess your home safety and put your mind at ease. Try to run through these checks a couple of times a year, and always be on the look out for hazards and accidents that are waiting to happen.
Beetham Electric. (2016). EIGHT MOST DANGEROUS ELECTRICAL HAZARDS IN YOUR HOME. Retrieved from Beetham Electric: http://www.beethamelectric.com/industry-news/eight-most-dangerous-electrical-hazards-in-your-home/
gov.uk. (2015). The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015: Q&A booklet for the private rented sector – landlords and tenants. Retrieved from gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. (2017). English Housing Survey. Retrieved from Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724327/Fire_and_Fire_Safety.pdf
ROSPA. (2021, April). Facts and figures. Retrieved from ROSPA: https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/general/facts-and-figures
The CCC. (n.d.). Annex 2. Heat in UK buildings today. Retrieved from The CCC: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Annex-2-Heat-in-UK-Buildings-Today-Committee-on-Climate-Change-October-2016.pdf
[i] https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/general/facts-and-figures
[ii]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724327/Fire_and_Fire_Safety.pdf
[iii] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants
[iv] http://www.beethamelectric.com/industry-news/eight-most-dangerous-electrical-hazards-in-your-home/
[v] https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Annex-2-Heat-in-UK-Buildings-Today-Committee-on-Climate-Change-October-2016.pdf