Electricity causes 3000 fires per year
In the last ten years, around 3,000 building fires caused by electricity have occurred in Switzerland every year. This has resulted in an average loss of 75 million Swiss francs per year. With its new campaign, the Swiss Fire Prevention Council (BFB) is drawing attention to the fire risks associated with electrical installations.
It is often difficult to correctly assess the condition of electrical installations, as defects are not always clearly recognizable. Caution is therefore advised: Independent repairs are dangerous and, in the worst case, can be fatal. In addition, defects in electrical installations repeatedly lead to fires. For this reason, work on electrical installations should only be carried out by qualified electrical companies.
Accidents and fires often occur in older buildings due to outdated electrical installations. The installations should therefore be checked by a specialist at regular intervals and replaced if necessary. Many old buildings also have too few sockets, which is why multiple plugs and socket strips are often used. Care must be taken to ensure that the load limit is not exceeded. It is safer and more sustainable to adapt the electrical installation to current requirements.
BFB safety tips at a glance
- Never repair electrical installations yourself; always carry out such work
be carried out by a specialist. - Have defective sockets and appliances repaired immediately.
- Have older electrical installations retrofitted with RCDs.
- Observe load limits for multiple plugs and socket strips.
Do not plug these devices into each other. - Do not install and use temporary cable constructions.
The BFB provides more safety information at bfb-cipi.ch/electrical-installations.
