Consumer protection charity Electrical Safety First has launched a new Alexa app, to help slash the number of electrical fires in UK homes.
Using voice technology to access information on product recalls, consumers can discover if they have a recalled electrical item – simply by giving Alexa the item’s brand name.
Currently, product recalls achieve a success rate of just 10% to 20%, leaving a host of potentially unsafe electricals items still in use and presenting a significant risk of fire.
Research by the charity indicated that almost 270 million unregistered electrical products are still in UK homes. As only those consumers who register an item can easily be contacted in the case of a product recall, this means that there is a significant proportion of the population who won’t know if one of their appliances is a safety risk.
Electrical Safety First’s new Alexa app aims to boost those recall rates, preventing electrical fires caused by faulty devices.
Emma Drackford, Electrical Safety First’s director of communications, said: “Electricity is responsible for over half of all UK domestic fires. In 2017, almost 5,000 fires were caused by faulty electrical appliances and leads, including recalled items – the equivalent of 13 fires a day across the UK.
“We hope that by launching the Alexa app, people will use it to make ad hoc checks while doing chores around the house, without having to open a website. It’s all about removing barriers and giving our audience the tools they need to use their electrical products more safely.”