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How to Prevent Electrical Fires in Your Home

Are you confident your home is protected from electrical fire risks? Very few things spoil your day faster than smoke pouring from a socket you’ve used daily for years.

It’s a terrifying thought and more common than most people realise. Faulty wiring, overloaded sockets, and ageing electrics cause many fires in UK homes every year. Every year, thousands of fires across the UK are caused by faulty appliances and leads, underscoring the importance of electrical safety.

Wondering how to prevent electrical fires at home? This article outlines practical ways to improve home fire prevention and explains when to involve a qualified electrician. At Mission Road Electrical, we help protect homes with expert electrical inspections, rewiring services, and consumer unit upgrades – so you’re never left at risk.

Common Causes of Electrical Fires

Understanding the causes of electrical fires is the first step towards prevention, and many of the risks in UK homes go unnoticed until it’s too late.

Some of the most common causes include:

  • Overloaded Sockets and Extension Leads: Plugging too many appliances into a single outlet can easily overheat the circuit.
  • Faulty Appliances: Frayed cables or internal faults can spark without warning.
  • Damaged Wiring or DIY Fixes: Attempting your own electrical work might seem like a shortcut, but it significantly increases the risk of fire.
  • Old Fuse Boxes or Outdated Systems: These weren’t built to handle the demands of modern homes and may fail when overloaded.

If you’re living in an older property, the fire risk from old wiring is particularly high, so regular checks and timely updates are essential for staying safe.

7 Ways to Reduce the Risk of an Electrical Fire

When it comes to how to prevent electrical fires at home, simple habits can make all the difference. Follow these electrical safety tips to reduce your risk:

  1. Don’t Overload Sockets: Use one plug per socket and avoid daisy-chaining extension leads.
  2. Unplug Unused Appliances: This reduces unnecessary power flow and helps avoid overheating.
  3. Avoid DIY Electrical Work: Always leave it to trained professionals.
  4. Get Appliances PAT Tested (landlords): Especially important if you’re renting out a property.
  5. Replace Damaged Leads or Plugs: Don’t tape over frays; replace them properly.
  6. Upgrade Old Fuse Boxes to Modern Consumer Units: A fuse box upgrade ensures your electrics meet today’s safety standards.
  7. Install Smoke Alarms in Key Areas: Especially near bedrooms and kitchens.

Each step supports your broader home fire prevention plan and reduces the risk of harm to your family or tenants.

When to Book an Electrical Safety Inspection

Spotting problems before they escalate is key to home safety. Warning signs like flickering lights, frequently tripped circuit breakers, buzzing switches, or burning smells near sockets should never be ignored, as these are often early indicators of underlying electrical faults.

Left unchecked, they can pose a serious risk of fire or electric shock. That’s when booking a fire safety inspection becomes essential – not just as a precaution, but as a proactive step to protect your property and everyone in it.

An EICR report (Electrical Installation Condition Report) provides a thorough assessment of your electrical system. It checks for deterioration, faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, and compliance with current UK safety standards. The report outlines any actions required, rated by urgency, so you know exactly where you stand.

We recommend a fire safety inspection at least every ten years for owner-occupied homes, and every five years for rented properties. If you live in an older property or notice any warning signs, more frequent checks may be necessary.

Peace of mind starts with knowing your electrics are safe and acting before problems turn into danger.

How to Prevent Electrical Fires in Your Home – Enlist Mission Road Electrical

At Mission Road Electrical, we don’t just fix problems – we help you prevent them. Our experienced domestic electricians are fully NICEIC-approved and qualified to carry out inspections, rewiring, and consumer unit upgrades.

All our work complies with BS 7671 wiring regulations, ensuring safety and peace of mind. We offer flexible appointments, fast response times, and a commitment to delivering high-quality work every time.

If you’re serious about home fire prevention, speak to our team about arranging a professional fire safety inspection today.

Protect Your Home – Book a Safety Check Today

Worried about how to prevent electrical fires at home? Then our team is here to help with expert electrical safety tips and professional services.

Mission Road Electrical excels in home fire prevention through expert inspections, rewiring, and high-quality installations and upgrades. Call us today on 01202 283643 or use our contact form to speak with a qualified electrician. We’re MCS-certified contractors offering competitive prices and a 100% guarantee on workmanship.

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Gary was friendly polite and reassuring in getting the job done in no time - just what we wanted, thank you!
Bea Lily
22:36 14 Jul 25
Absolute lifesaver, my fridge freezer was damaged during a move and the wires for the plug became disconnected from the fridge freezer. Phoned at 5:30pm, Jason was out by 7pm and had everything reconnected and back up and running perfectly. Thank you! Highly recommend and reasonable priced too for an out of hours call.
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Brilliant service. Easy to book, relatively short wait time for appointment, deal with a human the whole time and the job that was done was immaculate. I had a fairly significant ask and was worried about scope creep as is usual with these things; but no, they came, they quoted, they got it done perfectly and they were friendly throughout. When more help was needed to get it done in time, they called in reinforcements so I wasn't inconvenienced for very long. Top work Luke and Liam.
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Absolutely the best electrical company , very helpful, professional . Definitely recommended to everyone 5 stars
Deborah Hopcroft
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Really impressed with Luke, worked hard, non stop, was very knowledgeable, professional, polite and tidied up after he completed the job. Would recommend and use again
Simon Rood
17:43 19 Jun 25
Fantastic quality work from Luke. He installed full electrics for a garden room including hot tub, underfloor heating and WiFi enabled controls as well as neatly installing SWA cable. Good problem solving too. Neat, accurate, tidy, great attention to detail. Will be using mission road again. I already used them for an EV point install. Rob did that one, and again, fantastic.
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Very pleased with all aspects - efficient and friendly office staff plus Gary as a highly professional yet very personable electrician who went the extra mile. Would highly recommend!
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An extremely efficient, reliable and professional service from Gary. He was always on time, and communicated clearly. A clean and tidy worker, and very personable. Would not hesitate to use again.