London Fire Brigade are advising Londoners to register their electrical appliance after new figures show that faulty electrical goods cause nearly a fire a day in the capital.
The figures, released on Thursday (January 21), show white goods - including fridges, freezers, dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers - account for over 300 fires each year.
In 89% of these incidents, the cause was a fault in the appliance or its electrical supply .
The news comes as the government's Fire Kills campaign launches Register My Appliance Day.
This will see millions of shoppers receiving a safety message from major white goods manufacturers, reminding them to register any bargains they snapped up in the sales and then to take an extra moment to check around their kitchens and register their older machines.
As part of the Fire Kills campaign, London Fire Brigade are urging people to take this sensible safety measure on Register My Appliance Day to reduce the risk of home fires.
According to Office of National Statistics figures, nationally there are over 100 million large appliances in use in our homes and we keep them a very long time.
However, a consumer survey by Electrical Safety First found only 47% of consumers registered the last product they bought.
Unlike cars, this leaves the vast majority untraceable if a safety action becomes necessary.
Usually a simple, free, in-home fix by a qualified technician is all that is needed to put the product back on track for a long, safe life but manufacturers need to identify and contact owners swiftly to organise a repair.
The register my appliance website provides quick and easy access to the registration pages of 62 leading brands.
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety Neil Orbell urged Londoners to register their new buys straight away and not to forget older appliances they may have in their kitchens.
He said: "To help protect their homes and families everyone should put registering electrical appliances at the top of their to-do list.
"On the register my appliance website most manufacturers offer registration of large white goods that are up to 12 years old and keying in details of both old and new appliances is time well spent."
