Power cut guide
Power Cut Safety: Candles, Generators and Carbon Monoxide
Quick answer: Use battery torches or lanterns rather than candles, and if you must use candles, never leave them unattended. Never run a generator, barbecue, camping stove or patio heater indoors, in a garage or near open windows and doors, because they produce carbon monoxide, which can kill. Fit a battery carbon monoxide alarm, and if you get a headache, dizziness or nausea that eases when you go outside, get into fresh air and call NHS 111, or 999 if someone is struggling to breathe, confused or collapses.
Is the power off where you are? See live power cuts from the network operators and reports from neighbours.
Most power cuts are an inconvenience rather than a danger. The risks usually come from what people do to cope: candles knocked over in the dark, a camping stove lit in the kitchen, or a generator run in the garage. This guide covers lighting, cooking, heating, generators and carbon monoxide, with the advice fire services and the NHS give.
Light: why torches beat candles
Fire and rescue services consistently say the same thing: battery torches and lamps are much safer than candles. They can’t set fire to curtains, they won’t be knocked over by a child or pet, and you can carry them from room to room.
- Keep at least one torch somewhere easy to find in the dark, such as a kitchen drawer or by the bed.
- Check that torches and battery lights work every few months, and keep spare batteries.
- A battery or wind-up lantern lights a whole room and is easier for older people to use than a small torch.
- Head torches leave both hands free for cooking, caring for a baby or checking the fuse box.
- Avoid using your phone as your main torch. You’ll want its battery for calls and updates.
Leave one ordinary light switched on, so you’ll know straight away when the power comes back. Our guide to building a power cut emergency kit lists the lighting worth keeping at home.
If you do use candles
Sometimes a candle is all you have. If so, follow the fire service rules every time.
- Put candles and tea lights in a proper, sturdy, non-flammable holder on a heat-resistant surface. Tea lights can get hot enough to melt plastic, such as the top of a TV or the side of a bath.
- Keep them upright and out of draughts, and away from curtains, fabrics, furniture and anything flammable.
- Leave at least 1 metre (3 feet) between a candle and any surface above it, such as a shelf.
- Keep them out of reach of children and pets.
- Never leave a lit candle unattended. Put candles out before you leave the room or go to sleep.
- Use a snuffer or spoon to put them out. Blowing can send sparks and hot wax flying.
- Check they are fully out and not smouldering.
Safety: Don’t carry a lit candle around the house, and never go to sleep with one burning. If a fire starts, get everyone out, stay out and call 999.
Switch appliances off at the wall
Power can come back without warning, sometimes in the middle of the night. Fire services advise switching off electrical appliances at the socket during a power cut, particularly anything that heats up.
- Turn off cookers, ovens, hobs, grills, irons, hair straighteners, fan heaters and electric blankets.
- Switch off and unplug sensitive electronics such as TVs and computers.
- Leave the fridge and freezer plugged in and switched on, with the doors shut.
- Leave one light on as your signal that power is back.
This stops a forgotten hob or iron coming back on while you are asleep or out. When power does return, our guide on what to check when the power comes back on covers the next steps.
Cooking safely without electricity
Electric and induction cookers won’t work in a power cut. A gas cooker may still work, but check its instructions first, as some models need electricity for ignition or safety controls.
The Food Standards Agency says camping stoves, barbecues and bottled gas stoves can be used, but that most are designed for outdoor use only. Read the manufacturer’s instructions before lighting one.
- Never use a barbecue indoors, in a tent porch, garage or conservatory. Barbecues give off carbon monoxide.
- Only use a camping stove indoors if its instructions say this is allowed, with good ventilation, and never leave it unattended.
- Cooking on these takes longer. Make sure food is steaming hot all the way through.
- Keep children and pets well away from stoves and hot pans.
- Don’t store gas cylinders or fuel in living areas.
Often the simplest answer is to skip cooking. Cold food from the cupboard, sandwiches, and hot drinks from a flask filled before the power went off are all fine for a short cut.
Heating: what is and isn’t safe
Losing heating is the hardest part of a winter power cut, and it is when people take the biggest risks. The table below sets out the main options.
| Heat source | Safe to use indoors? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Extra layers, blankets, hats | Yes | The safest option. Wrap up and stay in one room. |
| Hot water bottle | Yes, with care | Don’t use freshly boiled water, use a cover, never for babies’ cots. |
| Wood burner or open fire | Yes, if properly installed and maintained | Keep it serviced, don’t block air vents, and fit a CO alarm in the room. |
| Gas oven or hob used to heat a room | No | Fire services say never use a gas oven to heat your home, even briefly. |
| Barbecue, charcoal grill, patio heater | No | Outdoor use only. Serious carbon monoxide risk. |
| Generator | No | Outdoors only, away from windows, doors and vents. |
Our guide to keeping warm in a winter power cut goes into layering, choosing a warm room and protecting older people and babies.
Generators: the rules that save lives
A petrol or diesel generator can keep a fridge, lights or a phone charger running, but it produces carbon monoxide just like a car engine. Fire services warn that any engine in an enclosed space can kill, even with a garage door open.
- Outdoors only. Never run a generator inside your home, garage, shed, porch, conservatory or caravan.
- Away from openings. Keep it well away from windows, doors and air vents, including your neighbours’, so exhaust can’t drift inside.
- Never connect it to your house wiring unless a qualified electrician has installed a proper changeover switch. Back-feeding power into the network can kill engineers working on the lines, and your network operator may need to be told about the installation.
- Use proper extension leads rated for outdoor use and for the load, and plug appliances directly into them.
- Let it cool before refuelling, and store fuel in approved containers away from the house.
If you’re thinking of buying one, read our full guide to home generator safety and sizing first. Our generator size calculator can then help you work out what you’d actually need. A battery power station gives off no fumes and is often a simpler option for phones, routers and lights.
Safety: Never run a generator, barbecue, camping stove or patio heater indoors or in a garage. Carbon monoxide has no smell or colour, and it can make you drowsy before you realise anything is wrong.
Carbon monoxide: symptoms and what to do
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas you can’t see, smell or taste. It’s made when fuels such as gas, oil, coal, wood, charcoal or petrol don’t burn fully.
Symptoms to watch for
The NHS lists these symptoms, which may come and go and often ease when you leave the affected area:
- headache
- dizziness
- feeling or being sick
- weakness and tiredness
- confusion
- chest or muscle pain
- shortness of breath
Be suspicious if several people in the house feel unwell at the same time, or if symptoms started after you lit a stove, heater or generator.
What to do
- Turn off the appliance you suspect, if it is safe to do so.
- Open doors and windows and get everyone outside into fresh air.
- Call 999 or go to A&E if anyone is finding it hard to breathe, has suddenly become confused, has chest or muscle pain, feels weak or has lost consciousness. Don’t drive yourself.
- Call NHS 111 if you think you have milder symptoms.
- If you think a gas appliance is leaking, call the gas emergency line: 0800 111 999 in Great Britain or 0800 002 001 in Northern Ireland.
- Don’t go back inside until you’ve been told it is safe.
All the key numbers are together on our emergency numbers page.
Carbon monoxide alarms
A CO alarm is your only reliable warning. The NHS advises fitting an audible alarm in every room with a gas, oil, coal or wood-burning appliance. In a power cut, a battery alarm keeps working.
- Look for an alarm that meets the standard EN 50291 and carries an approval mark such as the Kitemark.
- Fit and position it exactly as the manufacturer’s instructions say. Don’t put it at low level.
- Test it as the instructions recommend, and replace it if it fails a test or reaches the end of its life. Lifespans range from about one to six years depending on the model.
- Never cover or paint over an alarm.
- Remember a CO alarm doesn’t replace a smoke alarm. You need both.
Tip: Write the alarm’s replacement date on it with a marker pen when you fit it, so you don’t have to dig out the box.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to use a camping stove indoors during a power cut?
Only if the manufacturer’s instructions say it can be used indoors, and then only with good ventilation and a working CO alarm. The Food Standards Agency notes that most camping stoves are designed for outdoor use only. Never use a barbecue indoors.
Can I run a generator in my garage with the door open?
No. Fire services warn that running any engine in an enclosed space is dangerous even with the door open. Run generators outdoors, away from windows, doors and vents.
Can I use my gas oven to heat the kitchen in a power cut?
No. Fire services advise never using a gas oven to heat your home, even for a short time, because of the carbon monoxide risk.
What are the first signs of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Headache, dizziness, feeling sick, tiredness and confusion are common early symptoms, and they often ease when you go outside. Get to fresh air and call NHS 111, or 999 if someone has breathing problems, confusion or chest pain.
Are candles or torches better in a power cut?
Torches and battery lanterns. Fire services describe them as much safer than candles, and they last longer than you might expect with spare batteries.
Your next step: check today that your torches work, you have spare batteries and you have a working carbon monoxide alarm. If you’re unsure what else to keep in the cupboard, our complete guide to what to do in a power cut brings everything together. And if a storm ever brings a cable down near you, read our advice on fallen power lines before you go near it.
Sources
- NHS u2013 Carbon monoxide poisoning
- County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue u2013 Safety advice in the event of a power disruption
- Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service u2013 Candle safety
- Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service u2013 Carbon monoxide: minimise the risk
- Food Standards Agency u2013 Food safety in a power cut: advice for consumers
- HSENI u2013 Which carbon monoxide alarm should I buy?
Checked against these sources on 28 October 2026. Rules and amounts can change – your network operator or Ofgem has the final word. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
More on during a power cut: What to Do in a Power Cut: The Complete UK Guide · All power cut guides