On Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:19:25 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:

What are the figures for electrical fires in the USA again?

310 deaths last year. About 1/3 of the electrical fires involve
electrical shorts of some sort. Even with fuses in the power plugs,
shorts in the walls will have the same effect in both systems:
http://www.interfire.org/features/electric_wiring_faults.asp
...for 1993 - 1997 are that 41,200 home structure fires
per year are attributed to ‘electrical distribution.’ These
electrical distribution fires account for 336 civilian deaths,
1446 civilian injuries, and $643.9 million in direct property
damage per year.

http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/Proceedings/Ahrens_presentation.pdf

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/electrical.shtm
During a typical year, home electrical problems account for
28,600 fires and $1.1 billion in property losses. 53% of
residential electrical fires involve electrical wiring.

I couldn't find any statistics for UK.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558