EDAA assist Queensland Government with fire safety
Click image to enlarge
EDAA and the Office of Fair Trading are partnering in a consumer awareness safety campaign to remove old style bar heaters from Queensland homes.
Since July 2002, Queensland Fire Services have been called out to 443 structural fires caused by heating systems, amounting to nearly $9.5 million in property loss
The campaign will be heavily advertised by the Queensland Government over the coming winter months, in the media and at key venues including schools and child care centres, as most horrific burn injuries occur with children.
EDAA is supporting this campaign by distributing posters depicting fires caused by these old style heaters to all EDAA retail members.
'We encourage all members to assist in the campaign and display these posters in prominent view to all consumers', Peter Cosgrove, EDAA President said.
'It is important as an industry, they we 'do our bit' to help eliminate the use of these old type bar heaters and provide information that will assist consumers to purchase safer and more efficient models.
'This may also be an opportunity for the industry to offer customers a trade-in or bonus in exchange for their 'old style units'.
On behalf of EDAA, I will be in contact with retail and manufacturing leaders to see how collectively we can make a difference', he added.
Bar heaters are powered by radiant heat bars. The glowing bars reach extremely high temperatures and can cause instant burns to fingers or easily ignite when in contact with items such as clothing, furniture or blankets.
Many of the older style units do not contain a trip switch to prevent fire if the heater accidentally tips over, overheats or experiences another electrical fault.
Bar heaters also can consume huge amounts of energy if placed in the wrong locations as they usually don't have switches that control their output.
Photo: Queensland Minister for Tourism, Fair Trading, Wine Development and Women, Margaret Keech shows the media the new bar heater poster