Revealed: the everyday appliances most likely to start a fire in Hampshire

New figures from the Home Office show that 2,772 house fires were started by a household appliance in the area between April 2012 and March last year.

It comes after firefighters issued a safety warning yesterday after a man in Portsmouth tried to put out a fire in a plugged-in toaster by throwing water over it, and was left with singed hair.

Almost half the incidents attended by the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were started by cookers, with 1,368 fires causing 109 deaths or casualties over the five-year period.

The most common domestic appliances to cause fires in Hampshire between April 2012 and March 2017 were:

1) cookers, including ovens: 1,368 fires

2) grills and toasters: 305

3) separate rings and hot plates: 286

4) microwave ovens: 207

5) tumble dryers: 159

The Fire Brigades Union warned that both manufacturers and householders have a duty to prevent fires caused by everyday appliances.

A spokesman for the union said: ‘Manufacturers have a duty to ensure the products they sell are safe for the public to use and do not pose a threat to life.

‘We can all play our part in reducing fire risk by registering products with the manufacturers when we buy them, so that we are notified if there is a safety-related recall.

‘Make sure that the electrical wiring in our homes is in good order, and ensure that we have working smoke alarms and we have a plan for what to do if they go off.’

Between April 2012 and March 2017, 177 fires started by domestic appliances caused deaths or injuries.

More than 424 fires were started by faulty appliances or leads in Hampshire over the five years. Across England, such faults started over 13,000 fires.

The most common reason for fires started by appliances was misuse of the equipment, which caused 1,584 fires in Hampshire, and nearly 48,000 nationally.

But the old staple of fire safety talks, chip pans, were still the cause of 195 fires in Hampshire, and over 9,000 fires nationally.