June 5. Day 156. Fire!

I had no idea how close our house had come to burning down. I called the electrician because some of the halogen down lights were starting to fail and look ugly. My plan was simply to swap them with new halogen ones. But the electrician suggested LEDs. Cheaper, longer lasting and safer, he said. Good idea, I thought. I'd heard they were longer lasting and cheaper to run but safer?  Yes, he said. Halogen lights run really, really hot and he'd seen evidence of smouldering fittings. He said he was surprised they hadn't been recalled. Their only saving grace was that people tended to turn them off because of the expense of running them. Really? I questioned. But I've heard of fires started by electric blankets, heaters, even Christmas tree lights but never house lights. Why is it so? How many fires have you heard caused by an electrical fault, he replied.... So, I decided to have all 45, yes 45, of them replaced. The electrician had been up the ladder for about two minutes when she showed me the evidence of charred wood and electrical chords. Holy crap. Why did no-one tell me this? Why isn't this on A Current Affair?
My bank has a big hole in in but at least there's not a hole in the street where my house used to be ... or worse.