Fear of Electrical Fire

[NickyL]

Hi, I wonder if other people share this fear? I have an extreme fear of leaving appliances plugged in when I'm not at home - I have two cats and I worry that if anything is left plugged in, it will catch fire and something terrible will happen to them. The only thing that is left plugged in is my fridge because I can't get to the plug because of the way the kitchen is designed. I tend to try not to think too much about this because otherwise it worries me the whole time I'm not at home. However, I have found myself worrying more and more about it and think that the only way I can stop worrying is if I turn it off at the fusebox when I'm not in! It takes me ages to get out of the house because of checking and re-checking that nothing is plugged in (it never is!). I've tried researching about the safety of fridges etc but nothing is giving me the reassurance that I need. Just thinking about it now has me convinced that something bad will happen because I've left it plugged in today. It's an all consuming fear.

[kristaok]

Electrical fires are extremely rare.

Is your home old or new? Most new houses have a rare chance of electrical fires. Usually those sort of concerns only happen with old wiring.

[Oosh]

KristaOk is right. The safety is all in your houses wiring. If you want to reassure yourself get an electrician to come and make sure you have up to date electrical protective devices installed in your home.

Mcb's and Rcd's turn off the power if these nightmare scenarios play out when you're not there. So if your fridge is naughty in any way it'll be disconnected.

If you've not had your home wiring checked for a few years get someone to check it for you. If you don't have the latest protective devices installed they'll tell you.