Register appliances urge Shropshire fire safety experts

Shoppers are being strongly urged to register electrical appliances by fire safety experts.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service says shoppers who register new and old appliances with the relevant manufacturer will greatly reduce the risk of a fire in their home.

Today, January 21, is national “Register My Appliance Day” and according to figures released as part of the campaign, thousands of consumers are still missing out on product safety warnings because they are not registering their fridges, freezers, toasters and washing machines.

“There are more than 100 million large appliances in use in our homes and we keep them a very long time, but less than half (47%) of consumers registered the last product they bought. Unlike cars, this leaves the vast majority untraceable if a safety action or product recall becomes necessary,” an SFRS spokesperson said.

Usually a simple, free, in-home fix by a qualified technician is all that is needed to put the product back on track for a long safe life. But manufacturers need to identify and contact owners swiftly to organise a repair.

SFRS is urging consumers to register their new and used appliances by logging onto the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA) website - www.registermyappliance.org.uk - where they will find registration pages for 62 leading brands.

SFRS’s Prevention Manager, Rabinder Dhami, said the public should register all their appliances, including the older ones.

“Everyone should put registering appliances at the top of their to-do list. Most manufacturers offer registration of large white goods that are up to 12 years old and a visit to the registration website to key in details of old and new appliances is time well spent.

“Registering an appliance could save your life or your family’s lives. Between April and December last year we had 179 accidental fires and 46 of these involved electrical appliances,” Mr Dhami said.

The registermyappliance portal also provides valuable advice on correct maintenance, safe usage and installation, product standards and testing, guarantees and warranties, consumer rights, a product recall listing and the AMDEA Code of Practice on Product Safety.