How many times have you left the house and worried that you have left something on? Does it play on your mind during the day or like many do you go back and waste valuable time checking? For the average person this is a regular occurrence, now imagine that you have a mixed age household with elderly relatives, young adults or children. This fear likely amplifies as you worry about everyone else’s activities. Or perhaps you manage a property or facility with shared kitchens such as student accommodation or assisted living. The risk can elevate further in these situations. According to the Irish Dept. of Housing, Planning & Local Government, hundreds of fires were traced back to cooking alone in 2016. In the UK, half of all domestic fires are traced back to cooking activity. A survey conducted by the UK National Union of Students showed that half of respondents admitted to cooking while under the influence of alcohol. A report in the UK Telegraph states that despite the student population only making up 0.4% of the population in London, it was responsible for 6% of all indoor fires across the city, with 10 callouts per week to student accommodation. Worryingly, a third of students were unaware of the fire safety procedures in their accommodation, according to the Students Union survey. The US also reports cooking as the largest cause of domestic fires at 51% or over 193,000 fires in 2015 alone. By the time a smoke alarm sounds, a fire has already begun and its job is to manage human safety by alerting people to evacuate. Now there is a way to prevent a fire from happening in the first place, averting costly property damage in addition to elevating human safety. Garo Electric Ireland has launched the Stoveguard SR3, a clever device that sits on or just under the hood of your electric oven or hob. It carefully monitors all temperature, light, emissions, and human activity. If any of the safety parameters are exceeded, the Stoveguard will respond by initially sounding an alarm, and if required, will disconnect power to the hob & oven, thereby preventing a fire before it starts.

  The Stoveguard's unobtrusive design has no visible wires - it uses a wireless connection and installation is very straight-forward. It has been carefully developed to avoid false alarms, limiting disturbance to members of the household. It is also available with a kitchen water leakage sensor. As demonstrated above, it is an excellent option for student accommodation, assisted living dwellings and anywhere that kitchens are used by multiple occupants. For more information visit www.garo.ie.