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Would anybody ever store volatile chemicals next to the fuse box?
(i'm assuming such people would not be familiar with the term consumer unit).
mespilus-
Yes, a pretty sizeable proportion of the population have a cupboard under the stairs that contains the consumer unit and some aerosol cans of different stuff, paint and some cloth material. Apparently car or diy materials are usually carrying the biggest threat.
The change back to metal consumer units was due to the number that had melted due to arcing and allowed the fire to spread that little bit quicker. There are future plans for Arc Fault Detection, it's just become a recommendation and will probably make it onto the regulations.
I think people view the 'fuse board' as pretty inert and safe, which it should be and largely is.
The figures might shock you :-
Airhead
As an aside, don't keep flammable materials in proximity to your consumer unit. White spirits, aerosols, thinners etc help to turn an arcing fuse board into an inferno pretty rapidly. Especially pertinent when the consumer unit is in a cupboard under the main means of evacuation.