It was Chiltern Fire’s long experience as fire behaviour experts and the fact that they have extensive test facilities on site, which drew the BBC to CIF’s High Wycombe headquarters. Philip Howard, head of the company’s newly restructured Fire Behaviour Section, said, ‘One of our strongest selling points is that we work with clients to find solutions to their testing problems. Flame TV wanted to show the dangers of faulty wiring in a domestic setting and we worked with their electrician to stage a test with good visual impact.’

The test involved setting up a fuse board and then overloading it. Mr Howard said, ‘This typically will happen in older homes. Although perfectly adequate in its day, an old-fashioned fuse box was never designed to cope with modern entertainment systems, home computers and the many household appliances families are likely to own. Home extensions too can lead to some very odd DIY wiring. ’

The test was set up to simulate a typical household cupboard, often an under the stairs area used for storage. ‘You commonly find fuse boxes are in close vicinity to flammable objects, which is why a fire can so quickly take hold.’

Another problem, as Jeremy Williams pointed out on camera, is that faulty wiring can be hard to spot. ‘We've seen here that from a simple fault in a fuse box a substantial amount of heat can be created, setting fire to the materials stored near it. That fire spread rapidly and involved the whole cupboard that it was in. You can see how quickly that fire would spread from there, potentially endangering the whole house. The smoke itself could very rapidly endanger people’s lives.‘

In situations like this, Mr Williams continued, ‘A fire will develop because the elements in the fuse box get hotter and hotter. The fuse box itself will start to melt and, as in this case, give way at the side. The combustible material placed next to it caught fire and the flames started to spread rapidly.’ The BBC captured on film how the whole cupboard space was soon ablaze, demonstrating vividly how quickly a fire can get out of hand.

In the UK, around 7,000 fires a year are caused by faulty electrics and household appliances. Mr Williams added, ‘The test we have watched today is similar to a case I attended about a year ago, when a fuse box exactly the same as this developed fault and the fire inside it spread very quickly to the cupboard. The whole building was damaged by that fire.’

Mr Williams, a firefighter with 19 years’ experience and a member of the Bucks community safety team, stressed, ‘It's really important to make sure smoke alarms are installed in your home. Get one, install it and test it. Once you've fitted your smoke alarm, make sure you've got an escape plan and make sure that everyone in the household, young and old, knows it.’

Fire & Rescue services around the country have invested heavily in preventive measures including public information campaigns. Mr Williams advised viewers: ‘If you have any doubts with regard to your own electrics and your own home fire safety, then contact your local fire station for further advice. Or contact a registered electrician who will be able to check your electrical system and appliances.’

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