AQW 3531/17-22


Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast


Tabled Date: 11/03/2020
Answered On Date: 26/03/2020
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health for his assessment of domestic fires caused by electricity, and the resources allocated to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service to tackle them.


Answer:
The table below details the number of domestic electric fires in Northern Ireland caused by electricity for the last three years:
Year
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
Number of domestic fires caused by electricity
492
556
481
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) provide a range of information and advice to the community on fire safety including advice on how to prevent electrical fires in the home. NIFRS provide free Home Fire Safety Checks to members of the community who are deemed at risk. NIFRS completed 13,116 of these visits between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2019.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service are appropriately resourced to respond to these incidents.