What about potential electrical emergency dangers inside your home?
Winter can also bring with it an increased chance of electrical shocks or electrical fires especially from heaters and electric blankets.
So, before you plug in any electrical appliance, that you’ve not used since last winter – particularly if you’ve stored it in the roof, garage or shed, make sure you do a visual check of the cord and appliance for any damage that may have occurred since you last used it. Critters that live in roofs and sheds, love chewing those sorts of cords.
If the cord is frayed, you can see wires, or your visual check reveals something else that’s just not right, either throw the item away or have it repaired by a qualified professional. It’s absolutely not worth the risk to yours or your loved ones lives.
If it looks okay but sparks when you turn it on, turn it off straight away and follow the same advice above.
And don’t forget, when you leave home or go to bed at night, make sure that all your heaters and electric blankets are turned off. We hate seeing the firies talking about homes that go up in smoke because of the heater being left on or an electric blanket that overheated, shorted and caused a fire.