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Fire service backs call to `Switch it off’

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is backing a call to switch off appliances which aren’t being used in a bid to reduce the number of accidental fires in the county.

Throughout this month Warwickshire County Council is running a campaign to `Switch it off – don’t just stand by and waste energy’.

This will culminate on Friday, November 3, with a `Big Turn Off’ day when everyone in Warwickshire will be urged to limit electricity usage between 4.30pm and 6.30pm to demonstrate the energy that can be saved during the peak period.

The main reason for this is to save energy usage, both reducing the impact we have on the environment through climate change, and cutting people’s household fuel bills.

However, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service says switching off appliances could have a far more significant impact on people’s lives by preventing accidental fires.

Equipment such as televisions, videos and mobile phone chargers, have caused a number of house fires in the county after becoming faulty, or overheating, while on stand by.

William Brown, Warwickshire’s Strategic Director of Community Protection and County Fire Officer, said: “Last year we attended 58 fires in homes that had resulted from faults in electrical equipment. In a number of cases these involved appliances that had been left switched on.

“There are also potential problems in the commercial sector where we attended 65 fires that were traced to faulty electrical equipment.  So switching off electrical appliances and not just leaving them on stand-by can not only save energy but also save peoples lives and property.”

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio holder for the Environment, said: “It’s clear that not only can householders save money and save the environment from switching off appliances, they could also be saving lives.

“If everyone in Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire stopped leaving appliances on stand by it would prevent 86,322 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere through wasted electricity and save more than £20m (enough to pay the annual electricity bill for 71,953 homes).”

For more information on taking steps to `Switch it off’ visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/switchitoff or call the energy advice hotline on 0800 512012.