In this example, we're helping a Landlord with the fire risk assessment for a House in Multiple Occupation. In the left-hand side of the picture above, taken during the assessment, you can see a commonly-found, easily purchased item; an electrical extension lead with a four-way plug-board. The key here is that the total electrical load in the four sockets is less than 13 amps (as this is the capacity of the extension lead and its plug). For low-consumption appliances such as IT, home entertainment, this is often OK. However, here we have a tumbe dryer and fridge/freezer, along with a couple of other devices; total load somewhere near 30 amps when all devices are kicking in. The result? The picture on the right, which is the extension lead plug.
While the use of an extension lead is not within the landlord's control, and therefore NOT within the scope of the fire risk assessment, the sufficiency of electrical sockets IS. The plug was found in this state by the electrican tasked with adding extra sockets.
In this case, a definite "near miss" that could well have resulted in a significant fire in a historic building
We're always happy to help Landlords with suitable advice for their tenants, too, with leaflets, posters, newsletter articles, etc. A good example is referring tenants to simple tools such as this excellent "load calculator" for extension leads, that can be found here.
At least the landlord-provided electrical appliances were PAT tested!