Alexa app launched to slash the number of electrical fires in UK homes

Leading consumer protection charity, Electrical Safety First, has launched a new Alexa app that will help decrease the number of electrical fires in UK homes.

The app has been created in response to statistics that 270 million unregistered electrical products are still in UK homes, and will allow consumers to discover if they have a recalled electrical item by giving Alexa the item’s brand name.

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Currently, product recalls achieve a success rate of just 10-20%, leaving a host of potentially unsafe electricals items still in use and presenting a significant risk of fire.

As only those consumers who register an item can be easily contacted in the case of a product recall, this means that there is a significant proportion of the population who won’t know if one of their appliances is a safety risk. Electrical Safety First’s new Alexa app aims to boost those recall rates, preventing electrical fires caused by faulty devices.

“Electricity is responsible for over half of all UK domestic fires”, explains Emma Drackford, Director of Communications for Electrical Safety First. “In 2017, almost 5,000 fires were caused by faulty electrical appliances and leads, including recalled items - the equivalent of 13 fires per day across the UK.

“We are committed to using every advantage provided by new technology to reduce this risk. We hope that by launching the Alexa app, people will use it to make ad-hoc checks while doing chores around the house, without having to open a website. It’s all about removing barriers and giving our audience the tools they need to use their electrical products more safely.”