Electrical products: fire safety In this feature electrical goods fires nationwide system The first steps to creating a nationwide system to help protect consumers from fires in their homes are being considered by industry and CTSI. Robert Chantry-Price elaborates n these dark, financially constrained times when resources are stretched to the limit for trading standards, it is encouraging to see new ideas and initiatives emerging that could bring about a significant improvement in product safety for consumers on a nationwide basis. The idea to join up a number of existing good practices was voiced at a recent conference to ensure that the next generation of consumer goods particularly electrical products are much safer than those currently on the market. The drive for low-cost electrical products which are often made in the Far East coupled with more complex, consumer-friendly products, is tending to drive down the cost of these items at the expense of safety. The conference, organised by the Home Retail Group (HRG), which owns Argos and Habitat and CTSI partner Ashfords LLP, heard presentations on fire safety by the London and Hampshire fire brigades services, HRG and Milton Keynes Council, which acts as a Primary Authority (PA) for the HRG and a number of other companies. London Fire Brigade has noticed that the number of fires caused by faulty consumer products in the home are increasing year on year, as we buy more and more electrical appliances. Now, the brigade routinely investigates any home fires involving consumer products to ascertain the reason for the blaze. Hampshire Fire Brigade has taken the matter a step further and is currently recording any meaningful data it can collect about a fire involving a consumer product. This data is then placed on its Incident Reporting System; it includes the make, model and serial number of the appliance that has caught fire and the consumers name and address. London Fire Brigade has noticed that the number of fires caused by faulty consumer products in the home are increasing year on year, as we buy more and more electrical appliances With the consumers permission, the brigade passes this data to the local trading standards service and, if appropriate, to The Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA). The trading standards service involved establishes with the economic operator if a PA scheme is in place before forwarding details of the incident onto it. Milton Keynes Trading Standards discusses the operation of its PA scheme with HRG. To do this it obtains the following information from the fire brigade: the products name; type; manufacturer; serial number; the consumers name and address; details of any injuries sustained; and a photograph of the goods that have been damaged. If the product has been purchased from HRG then the catalogue number can be established with Argos, or via the product code for Habitat products. Inturn, this enables HRG to take up any safety concerns with the importer or the manufacturer. At present, the various links in this chain havent been joined up nationally. However, it was encouraging to note that, with a push in the right direction from relevant stakeholders, the ideas put forward at the conference could lead to a national system being established that would significantly improve consumer product safety. In this case, the principal stakeholders would include organisations such as The Chief Fire Ofcers Association, CTSI, Better Regulation Delivery Ofce, the Home Retail Group and the relevant trade associations. Credits Robert Chantry-Price is a CTSI lead officer for product safety. Images: Inga Nielsen / Shutterstock To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like White goods warning March 2016