;
Energy type: 
Electricity
 
Event summary: 
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) notified WorkSafe Energy Safety of a house fire involving an electric blanket.
 
Accident ID: 
180225-01
 
Accident date: 
25 February 2018
 
Site: 
Domestic
 
Environment: 
Building
 
Voltage: 
230
 
Equipment: 
Blankets; pads
 
Accident type: 
Fire
 
Casualty: 
Non-fatality
 
Injury: 
No injury
 
Property damage level: 
Restricted to the room containing the equipment
 
Outcome of investigation: 

The electric blanket was considered the most likely cause of the bedroom fire. FENZ could not determine the make or model of the blanket involved, due to its condition following the fire.

The fire started at the bottom of the bed indicating an element short-circuit fault (modern electric blankets have a protective guard wire system designed to prevent possible fires from occurring when an insulation fault occurs in the heating element).

WorkSafe Energy Safety recommends that electric blankets are replaced every 3-5 years and strongly suspect that the blanket involved in this fire was significantly older than this. This age factor combined with the way electric blankets tend to be used and stored over time is the most likely contributory cause of fires in electric blankets.