Fires caused my chargers

[mycats]

I have told my son countless times that he cant leave his charger (for his game boy) on overnight, because it makes me very nervous. He keeps saying "but my friends leave theirs on all night" Is there anywhere I can get stats. on the number of house fires caused by chargers being left on?

[mccfluff]

you coould try office of nat stats

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/Nscl.asp?ID=7 153&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=32

[spudqueen]

Not a charger, but an aerosol can be lethal. Not far from where I lived a family went out on a nice day (not unlike today) and left an aerosol on a window sill. The aerosol became so heated it exploded which caused the house to burn down.

[aka pixi]

cat im the same, i hate anything being left on overnight. Also I hate stuff being left on standby too, I used to work in the same place as someone who left her tv on standby and it caused an house fire killling her teenage son :(

[WoWo]

my dad was a fireman and was obsessed with unplugging
everything at night (not just switching off at the wall).

[Ethel]

I have searched and found only instances of fires caused by faulty X-boxes, and they were not left on charge, they just had an electrical fault.

As you are concerned you can telephone your local fire station for advice - they are always to help.

But the fact remains that this makes you nervous and your son should respect your wishes. Tell him that if he does not stop leaving his charger on overnight you will remove the gameboy from his possession.

And mean it!

Good luck.

[Catso]

I think this would be a very rare occurence. Theoretically possible, yes, but very rare. There will be loads of stuff left on overnight, do you worry about all that? (Fridge, freezer, central heating, immersion heater, computer, tv, video, satellite receiver, to name a few possibilities)

You could try your county fire brigade, I suppose they keep records of causes of fires.

[mycats]

Thanks everyone, I do go through and make sure his charger is unplugged, I also unplug everything at night. A friend of mine lost nearly her entire family (gran, grandad, uncle, nephew and 2 year old daughter!) in a house fire caused by "electrical fault" so I am VERY fire aware.

[beryllium]

Hello dear Cat :-)

I read somewhere that leaving a phone charger on overnight, without it actually charging something,every night,costs �25 a yr. dunno if it's the same with gameboys, probably.

start deducting his pocket money, see how quickly that works lol....

[mycats]

LMAO Oh now that is a good idea Berry, at aged 9 he is, of course, invincible, so scare stories dont work but money? now THAT he understands! Cheers hon x

[WendyS]

Can't comment on the safety issue of chargers being left on all night, but would reiterate that aerosol cans should definitely not be left on sunny window ledges, especially in the kitchen or bathroom because of the risk of explosion.

Also anybody who keeps a de icer can in their car during the winter should remove it during the warmer months in case the car is left in a hot sunny place and the car explodes.

Another reminder. Don't use plug-in room air fresheners. They are made of very thin plastic which can melt. They have, apparently been responsible for a large number of house fires.

[mycats]

Thanks for that spudqueen and Wendy, thats not something I would have really thought about

[muppeteer]

no offence, but i dont think quoting statistics to him will make much difference. its your house just tell him to do as you say and dont argue or suffer your wrath & if he does not listen then do that 'parent hulk' thing on him!

[mycats]

Yeah, you are probably right muppeteer, it was just a thought.