According to the National Fire Protection Agency, smoking is the leading cause of 1 out of every 20 home fires and the leading cause of home fire deaths. But it’s not just smokers who need to protect their homes, fire safety is something we should all be concerned with. However, this isn’t always the case.
To find out more, we ran a nationwide survey, speaking to over 2,000 people to reveal just how fire safe our homes truly are.
Here’s what we found:
9 out of 10 Brits aren’t testing their smoke alarms frequently enough
Experts recommend you check your smoke alarm every week, to ensure it’s working properly. However, our research revealed that only 1 in 10 Brits (12%) actually do this. 88% of the people we spoke to said they check their smoke alarms less than once a week, with a shocking 8% saying they have never tested their alarm!
Gen Zs were the biggest culprits when it comes to smoke alarm maintenance, with 12% of 16-24 year olds admitting to never testing their alarm. Meanwhile, those aged 35-44 are testing their alarms most frequently, with 13% doing this weekly.
Our research also revealed that people living in rented accommodation are almost twice as likely to have never tested their smoke alarm compared to homeowners, with 12% of renters admitting to this, compared to just 6% of homeowners.
Looking at how fire safety differs around the country, people in Glasgow scored the worst, with 14% of Glasweigans admitting to never checking their smoke alarm. Birmingham wasn’t far behind, with 11% saying they’d never checked their alarm, followed by 10% of people in Manchester.
The Biggest Fire Hazards in UK Homes
The misuse of electrical equipment and appliances is one of the biggest causes of fires in UK homes, and was also one of the most common offences admitted to in our survey.
Despite plug socket misuse being a known cause of fires in UK homes, 77% of Brits admitted to leaving their phone, laptop or other electronic devices plugged in and charging all night, while 72% said they plug multiple devices into the same socket or extension cord.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was more common in younger people, with 90% of those aged 16-34 admitting to leaving their devices charging overnight, compared to just 65% of people aged 55 and over.
Fire Hazard | Percentage of Brits who | |
1 | Leaving your phone, laptop or other electronic device | 77% |
2 | Plugging multiple electronic devices into the same socket or extension cord | 72% |
3 | Leaving the dishwasher, washing machine or tumble dryer running while asleep, | 57% |
4 | Leaving the kitchen hob unattended while cooking | 51% |
5 | Using hair straighteners, or other styling tools, without a heatproof mat | 49% |
6 | Using an electric heater or portable radiator to dry washing | 44% |
7 | Leaving hair straighteners, or other styling tools, plugged in when not in use | 34% |
8 | Leaving an electric heater or portable radiator on while asleep, | 32% |
9 | Leaving candles, incense sticks or essential oil burners lit while asleep, | 31% |
10 | Never changed the battery in your smoke alarm | 14% |
Dealing With Fires At Home
While we should all be doing whatever we can to prevent fires at home, it’s equally as important to know how to deal with a fire, should the worst happen. There are 6 different types of fires you can encounter at home:
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Fires involving organic solids like paper and wood
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Fires involving flammable liquids like petrol, oil or paint
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Fires involving flammable gases like propane or butane
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Fires involving burning metals like magnesium or titanium
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Fires involving cooking fats and oils
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Fires involving live electrical equipment
While it is always recommended that you call 999 in the case of an emergency, there are steps you can take to manage fires at home. But do Brits know the correct way of dealing with each of these fires?
According to our research, Brits are most confident when it comes to paper and wood-based fires, with 62% knowing the correct way of dealing with these - either using water or a foam fire extinguisher.
Cooking fat fires had the next highest score, with 58% of Brits knowing you should use a damp cloth or fire blanket to smother the flames.
At the other end of the scale, only 24% of Brits know how to safely deal with a metal-based fire - using a dry powder or CO2 extinguisher.
Fire Type | Extinguishing Method | Correct Answer | Incorrect Answer |
Fires involving burning metals like magnesium or titanium | Use a dry powder or CO2 extinguisher | 24% | 76% |
Fires involving flammable gases like propane or butane | Use a dry powder or CO2 extinguisher | 29% | 71% |
Fires involving live electrical equipment | Use a dry powder or CO2 extinguisher | 38% | 62% |
Fires involving flammable liquids like petrol, oil or paint | Use a dry powder, CO2 or foam extinguisher | 49% | 51% |
Fires involving cooking fats and oils | Smother it with a damp cloth or fire blanket | 58% | 42% |
Fires involving organic solids like paper and wood | Use water or a foam extinguisher | 62% | 38% |
Hopefully this information will help ensure your home is as fire safe as possible! If you’re thinking of switching from cigarettes to vaping, for whatever reason, why not check out our guide to vape safety, to make sure you’re starting off on the right foot.
