Fires caused by electrical blankets and bedwarmers increased more than
eleven-fold between 1953 (when such fires were first recorded separately by the
Joint Fire Research Organization) and 1960. This increase seems to be more
than proportionate to the increase in the number of appliances at risk.
This note deals with reports from Local Authority Fire Brigades of fires
caused by electric blankets and bedwarmers, received as part of a general survey
of all fires associated with electrical equipment between September 1957 and
August 1958. In all, 329 reports of blanket and bedwarmer fires were received,
including 12 fires in which 14 persons were injured, 5 of them fatally. The
most common cause, accounting for 55% of all the fires, was reported as overheating
not caused by overloading which suggests a need for more stringent
safety measures.
