For its annual awareness week, charity Electrical Fire Safety Week has tapped into a viral video content trend to stress the life-saving importance of having smoke alarms as part of its latest campaign.

The new national campaign, designed to look like native user-generated content, urges Brits to check their smoke alarms after millions of Brits admitted to never testing them.

New nationally representative research of 2,000 UK adults reveals that 7% of people never test their smoke alarm — the equivalent of 4 million adults nationwide — raising serious concerns that many homes may not be alerted in the event of a fire.

Fire safety experts warn that failing to regularly test smoke alarms could significantly reduce the chance of escaping a fire, where every second is critical.

Rory Carroll, Director of Communications at Electrical Safety First, said: “Every second counts when it comes to escaping a fire in your home. Smoke alarms can be the difference between life and death — but only if they are working properly and are regularly maintained.”

The aim of the campaign is simple. As part of Electrical Fire Safety Week, Electrical Safety First is urging households to test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace batteries when needed. And most importantly, don‘t ignore the beep…

 

The video campaign was inspired by viral get ready with me content #GRWM where the interrupting beeping of a low battery smoke alarm incorporates an imperfect but very real life risk into an otherwise polished content creator style video.

The film follows a young content creator filming a smokey eye tutorial on livestream, when the faint chirp of a low-battery smoke alarm continues to sound in the background. Having already dismissed the noise for weeks, she ignores it while viewers watching in real time are quick to jump in and frantically call out the ignorance of her habits and the danger she’s putting herself in.
It is this stark contradiction which the campaign aims to highlight. In a world where we are ready to spot every detail and publicly call out others’ mistakes, it’s our own complacency and poor habits which put us most in danger.

Survey data on Britain’s fire safety habits support this sentiment, revealing:

  • Over two-fifths (43%) of Brits admit they don’t check their smoke alarms regularly
  • A quarter of Brits (25%) admit they will wait for it to start beeping, due to a fault or low battery, before taking action to check their smoke alarm
  • Over 4 million adults nationwide (8%) admit to never testing their smoke alarm.

Rory Caroll, Director of Communications at Electrical Safety First, said: “This campaign aims to hold a mirror up to our own fire safety habits and challenge that complacency. By taking inspiration from popular trends, like get-ready-with-me content, we’re hoping the campaign video will generate strong engagement across social. The low-battery beep of a smoke alarm is a sound we recognise all too well, and one many of us are quick to ignore. This campaign encourages people to take a moment to test their smoke alarms and replace the batteries. Because these simple actions can make the difference between whether you and your loved ones safely escape a blaze.”

To further amplify the campaign, Electrical Safety First has also partnered with trusted family influencers @thechoifamilyuk and @daywithdad, to ensure the message reaches those most at risk.

Research shows that children under five are at the greatest risk, accounting for 50% of fire-related deaths among those aged 16 and under. This is because younger children are less able to recognise danger, escape independently, or react quickly to alarms – making early detection especially critical in homes with young families.

By working alongside these creators, Electrical Safety First aims to raise awareness where it matters most, reinforcing the importance of testing smoke alarms and changing batteries to help protect families and save lives.