Four million adults never test their smoke alarm, Electrical Safety First says

Smoke alarm testing rates reported in UK survey

A UK survey commissioned by Electrical Safety First found 7% of adults said they never test their smoke alarm, which it described as the equivalent of four million adults.

The charity said the nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK adults found 22% test once a month and 39% test less often than monthly.

It said almost one in 10 test their smoke alarm once a year or less.

Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, said: “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.”

Capanna said: “Fires don’t discriminate.

“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.”

Smoke alarm absence in accidental electrical dwelling fires

Electrical Safety First said its analysis of government dwelling fire data found 4,498 of 24,140 accidental electrical dwelling fires recorded between 2023 and 2025 had an absent smoke alarm, which it reported as 19%.

It said government analysis shows people living without a working smoke alarm are 11 times more likely to die in a dwelling fire.

The charity said a per-capita analysis placed Norfolk top, with smoke alarms absent in 188 homes where accidental electrical fires were recorded in the past two years.

It reported Avon ranked second with 199 incidents, followed by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly with 87, Hertfordshire with 161 and Nottinghamshire with 98.

It also reported survey results on the cities where people were most likely to say they never test smoke alarms, with Sheffield at over 14%, Liverpool at 11%, London at 9% and Bristol and Cardiff tied at 8%.

Electrical Fire Safety Week guidance highlighted by the charity

Electrical Safety First said the findings were released as part of Electrical Fire Safety Week.

It said households should test alarms at least once a month, replace batteries when needed and avoid disabling alarms.

It said homes should have at least one working smoke alarm on every floor and people should respond to beeping alarms, which it said may indicate a low battery or a sensor fault.