ELECTRICAL fires accounted for more than a fifth of all house blazes in the county last year, according to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, there were 194 such fires, with seven occurring in Brentwood, one in Ingatestone and three in Billericay.
The majority of the fires started in the kitchen, with more than half of the people who had an electrical fire in their homes not being alerted by smoke detectors.
A third of the fires occurred in homes with no working smoke alarm and a third in homes where the positioning of the smoke alarms meant that they did not sound or where detectors were fitted but were out of batteries.
Station officer Bryan Mansfield, community safety liaison officer for Basildon and Brentwood, said: "Many of these fires are preventable.
"We are urging everyone to look for old or worn flexes and make sure that all appliances are in good working order.
"The best advice I can give is make sure that you fit, and regularly test, a smoke alarm.
"It is the single most important piece of safety equipment in any home.
"It provides vital warning that a fire has broken out, giving everyone time to get out."
"All too often it is the simple things that people could check for themselves that can lead to a serious accident.
"So we are urging everyone to make basic visual checks around the home to ensure electrical safety."