North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is highlighting the importance of electrical
safety following the fire that claimed the lives of two men aged 19 and 39 in
Llanrwst on Friday 10th October.

Investigations have determined that 'the most likely cause that can be attributed to the fire is it starting in the tumble dryer and that matter is subject to a Coroner's inquest.

Emergency services were called to the first floor flat on Ancaster Square, Llanrwst at 06.03hrs.

Gary Brandrick, Senior Fire Safety Manager, said: "Electrical fires present a real
risk to homeowners, often resulting in significant damage to property and sadly
sometimes with tragic consequences as we saw in Llanrwst last week.

"We attend around 470 accidental fires in dwellings each year and electricity or electrical items are responsible for over 300 of these fires.

"It's important to operate appliances according to the manufacturers' instructions and to check electrical items and leads for signs of damage or wear. So many residents without realising the risk use old or dangerous electrical items and overload their sockets, causing a potentially fatal fire risk.

"There is a useful 'ampage' calculator on our website which tells you if you are overloading your sockets and helps you to stay electrically safe www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk."

"The 10th of November marks the start of this year's Electrical Fire Safety Week - I urge everyone to take the opportunity to learn from tragic incidents such as
this and make a conscious effort to take extra care with electrical items."

Fire and Rescue Service staff were in the Llanrwst area over the weekend offering free home fire safety checks to residents and promoting the importance of smoke alarm ownership.

"Along with all the aspects of home fire safety that we cover during the Home fire
safety check (HFSC), smoke alarms are still the single most effective step that
anyone can take to protect themselves from fire in the home - yet it is still a
fact that around 20% of homes that we go to delivering HFSC's and attending
incidents and do not have a working smoke alarm," said Gary Brandrick.

Following the incident, Chief Fire Officer Simon Smith expressed his condolences to the families of the casualties of this tragic incident.

"Despite our success with our work in fire prevention, this incident is a stark reminder that fire can strike anyone, anywhere and we never know when or where our trained fire crews will be needed in North Wales," he said.

Residents in North Wales can call the 24 hour hotline on 0800 169 1234 or visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk to request a free home fire safety check.