Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is urging residents to use a scheme to register appliances and receive potentially life-saving safety updates.
The call comes as part of Electrical Fire Safety Month and comes after government research revealed that 49% of people have never registered their products, or domestic appliances – which means there’s an estimated 210 million unregistered products being used in the UK.
In the last three years, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has attended more than 1500 fires caused by electrical goods. Ovens, hot plates and toasters were the biggest offenders, but 11% of the fires were caused by faults in tumble dryers, washing machines, fridge freezers and dishwashers.
It only takes a few minutes to register and you can register items up to 12 years old, even if you bought them second-hand. To register your appliances, visit: https://www.registermyappliance.org.uk/registration/.