Electrical hazards alert

By Kath Gannaway
HOMEOWNERS are being urged to turn their electrical equipment off at the walls, update their smoke alarms and take out adequate home insurance.
The warning comes from Hillcrest CFA captain Rick Shaw after a recent house fire in Woori Yallock.
Capt Shaw said it is believed the fire, which was in Shirley Crescent on 6 June, was caused by either a television or DVD player.
Another fire a couple of weeks earlier was blamed on a computer and another some time earlier was also put down to electrical equipment.
“This is an opportune time to reinforce the winter fire message that where at all possible, people should be turning off all appliances at the power point,” Mr Shaw said.
“So many of today’s electrical appliances have stand-by mode which can cause overheating.
“With the exception of the obvious things like refrigerators, appliances need to be turned off when not in use.”
Smoke detectors should also be attended to, Mr Shaw said.
“A lot of people don’t realise that smoke detectors have a given life span and should be replaced every 10 years,” he said.
“The cost of a new detector is minimal nowadays so there is no reason not to.”
Mr Shaw said electric and gas heaters and wood-fire flues and chimneys should also be cleaned to minimise the chance of a fire.
His final suggestion was more of a plea.
“Please, please, please … insure,” he said.
“I’m not suggesting by any means it was the case in this last fire but people would be surprised at how many times we attend house fires only to find people are not insured.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
“They not only suffer the loss of their house but are also up for the cost of the fire brigade attending.”