- Experts sound the alarm over Brits’ poor smoke alarm-testing habits
- 7% of Brits admit to never testing their smoke alarm, meaning millions could be putting themselves at risk
- Charity launches ‘Don’t Ignore the Beep’ campaign as part of Electrical Fire Safety Week
Experts are raising the alarm as millions of households could be at risk of not being alerted to a fire in their home, as Brits admit to never testing their smoke alarm.
A new nationally representative survey of 2,000 adults across the UK by consumer safety charity, Electrical Safety First, reveals 7% of Brits admit to never testing their smoke alarm – the equivalent of four million adults across the country.
Now experts are raising serious fears many households may be jeopardising their chance to escape a fire.
“Every second counts when it comes to escaping a fire in your home and smoke alarms can be the life-saving gadget that proves to be the difference between life and death. But they need to be maintained to ensure they operate properly,” said Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First.
The charity recommends households test their smoke alarms at least once every month and that households take just a few seconds to build this into their routine at home.
Yet despite this, further research by the charity reveals a mere 22% of Brits test once a month, with 39% of Brits testing their smoke alarm less often than this.
Worryingly almost 1 in 10 test their smoke alarm just once a year or less.
“Fires don’t discriminate,” Giuseppe Capanna adds. “Many people affected by fire often tell us they simply didn’t think something like this could happen to them, which is why it’s so important households take just a few seconds to test their smoke alarm.
"It’s also vital you consider if you have enough of them in your home. Make sure alarms are positioned in areas across your home where a fire could start and that you have at least one on every floor of your property. The more alarms you have, the earlier your warning will be depending on where in your home a fire starts.”
Recent reports demonstrate just how vital a smoke alarm is, with one family in Derbyshire having a lucky escape after being alerted to a fire in the middle of the night in late November last year.
The fire, reported to have been caused by an e-bike battery, triggered the working smoke alarms, where the family were forced to escape from a first floor window.
Another local report reveals how smoke alarms played a vital role in allowing a family of five the vital minutes needed to escape a fire in North Wales, just before the New Year.
SMOKE ALARM BLACKSPOTS REVEALED – WHERE DOES YOUR REGION RANK?
While experts raise serious concerns about the infrequent testing of smoke alarms across the country, households are being warned their life could be at risk if they are missing an alarm in their home altogether.
Analysis of Government fire data by the charity also reveals the regions across England where alarms were absent altogether.
Analysis of dwelling fires across England reveals that, out of 24,140 accidental electrical dwelling fires between 2023 and 2025 4,498, or 19%, were recorded as having an absent smoke alarm.
“People living in a property without a smoke alarm altogether are at a significantly higher risk of being serious injured or worse, losing their life, in the event a fire grips their home,” Giuseppe Capanna adds, as the Government’s own analysis reveals that people living without a working smoke alarm are 11 times more likely to die in a dwelling fire.
Norfolk topped the list is one of the UK's biggest fire safety blackspots. With smoke alarms absent in 188 homes where accidental electrical fires have broken out in the past two years, Norfolk poses the greatest fire-safety risk per capita.
Avon ranked second (199), followed by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (87), Hertfordshire (161), and Nottinghamshire (98), rounding out the top five fire-safety blackspots3.
THE CITIES LEAST LIKELY TO TEST THEIR SMOKE ALARM:
Separate survey data also showed where in the country people are least likely to never test their smoke alarms, and Sheffield ranks the highest in the list, with over 14% of its population admitting to never testing their smoke alarms2.
The rest of the top five is dominated by major UK population centres, meaning even more people could be putting themselves at risk. Liverpool follows closely, with 11% of residents neglecting to test their smoke alarms. London stands at 9%, while Bristol and Cardiff round up the list, tied at 8%.
DON’T IGNORE THE BEEP – HOW TO STAY SAFE:
As part of Electrical Fire Safety Week, Electrical Safety First is urging households to test smoke alarms at least once a month, replace batteries when needed, never disable smoke alarms, and adopt simple fire-safe habits at home.
- One smoke alarm may not be enough – experts urge homes to ensure they have at least one working smoke alarm on every floor in their home, to ensure they are alerted to a fire as soon as possible, depending on whether it might start.
- Don’t ignore the beep – If your alarm starts to beep never ignore it, this could indicate the battery is low or a fault with the sensor that requires attention.
- Check which type of smoke alarm you have –some are battery operated only, whilst others are mains powered. Whatever type you have it’s essential you test it at least once a month for peace of mind and to ensure it operates properly.
- Prevention is better than cure – building in preventative habits into your nightly routine, known as habit stacking, can reduce your risk. For example, when you lock the front door, check the hob is off, or while the kettle is boiling, unplug any unused appliances.
READ MORE ABOUT ELECTRICAL FIRE SAFETY WEEK 2026
Notes to editors:
- Electrical Safety First is a UK consumer safety charity, dedicated to reducing fires, injuries and deaths caused by electricity in homes.
- The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,000 nationally representative UK consumers aged 18+. The data was collected between 27/01/2026 - 29/01/2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.
Absent Alarm data Methodology:
To identify fire safety blackspots across England, an analysis was conducted using the UK Government Dwelling Fires dataset (2023 to present), focusing on incidents where alarms were absent at the time of the fire. (Data is correct as of 29/01/2026 at 10:00am)
To identify fire safety blackspots across England, an analysis was conducted using the UK Government Dwelling Fires dataset (2023 to present), focusing on incidents where alarms were absent at the time of the fire. (Data is correct as of 29/01/2026 at 10:00am)
The data set was filtered to ensure findings related specifically to accidental electrical fires occurring in domestic dwellings. Filters applied were as follows:
Fire type: Accidental fires only
Cause of fire:
- Faulty appliances and leads
- Faulty fuel supplies
- Misuse of equipment or appliances
- Placing articles too close to the heat
Ignition source: Electric only
Fire incident data were analysed on a per-capita basis to identify regions with a disproportionately high number of fires where smoke alarms were not present. Population figures were based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year population estimates (2023–24). Where historic or combined county areas are used, population totals have been reconstructed by summing their constituent local authorities to align with fire reporting boundaries.