Oven Safety In The Home

Product misuse is the top cause of accidental fires in British homes and the number has increased by over a third since 2009.

An oven is an indispensable part of any household, but can pose a serious fire hazard when used improperly.

Safety First

• When buying a new oven, always buy from a reputable dealer, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions about installing, using and cleaning.
• Always register a new appliance with the manufacturer. That way you can be contacted easily if a safety notice or recall is required. While the chances of a faulty product causing serious damage are small, the risk is still there and returning a faulty product or ordering its repair is very easy to do. To register all your appliances, regardless of age, visit our Product Registration page.
• Use our Product Recalls checker to find out if any of your electrical items have been recalled.
• If your oven has a plug make sure that it’s a UK plug. If it doesn’t, do not use a UK travel adaptor, but rather ask the retailer to fit the appliance with a UK plug.
• Do regular checks of the plug and socket (where accessible) for burn marks, sounds of ‘arcing’ (buzzing or crackling), or if it feels too hot to touch.
• Ensure your home is fully protected by an RCD (residual current device), which can generally be found in your fuse box (also known as a consumer unit).  An RCD is a life-saving device that protects against dangerous electric shock and reduces the risk of electrical fires.
• If you don’t have RCD protection in your fuse box for your sockets, consider installing an RCD socket or plug to protect you and your property from serious appliance faults.
• Sometimes, appliance fires are caused by something beyond your control. Smoke alarms and heat detectors are essential in keeping you safe by raising the alarm in the event of a fire. There should be a minimum of one alarm/detector per floor and fit enough to cover all areas where a fire could start, and make sure they are tested regularly.
• If a fire does start, don’t try to fight the fire. Get out and call 999 immediately to raise the alarm.

Safe Use

• Never leave food cooking unattended, even if you’re just popping out for a minute.
• Don’t use the oven as a storage cupboard – someone might forget and turn it on.
• Make sure you keep the oven clean – grease and splatters of food can catch fire.
• Never use water on a grease fire!
• Keep your oven gloves, tea towels and other flammable materials away from heat.
• Always turn off the oven when not in use.
• If you have a gas oven and smell gas, open a window and leave the room before calling a Gas Safe engineer.

Red Brand Media is working in partnership with Electrical Safety First to spread awareness of better safety practices that individuals might be unaware of. 

For more information on electrical safety, visit https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk