Fire safety and protection

You will have electric or gas appliances in your home, especially for cooking and heating and if anyone smokes, if you use candles for mood lighting or aroma, if you have an open fire; for these reasons and many more your home is potentially at risk if you don't practice vigilant fire safety.

There are things you can do to reduce the risk to a minimum and precautions that will help in the event of a fire. You should always take fire precautions seriously, to ignore them could cost lives, make sure you and yours aren't among them.

A lot of fire security is common sense to most people, but to keep the principles fresh in the mind it is good practice to carry out a full household fire safety check every six months, and make sure everyone in the home is fully aware of the fire precautions and what to do in the event of fire, especially including children old enough to understand and the elderly who may not be fully mobile or perhaps have a tendency to become a little confused.

Fire safety check

1. Check and clean your smoke alarm following the manufacturers instructions. If you don't have smoke alarms, fit them now.

2. Have a fire evacuation plan for your home and make sure everyone knows how to escape in the event of fire.

3. Ensure all exits are clear of any obstruction and that everyone knows where to find the keys to doors and windows and can use them in an emergency.

4. Review your kitchen safety practices, as over half the domestic fires in the UK have cooking as their cause. If you have young children, never leave them in the kitchen on their own. Be extra careful if cooking when you are feeling tied and never cook if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

5. If you cook using hot oil in a chip pan, consider getting a deep fat frier with a thermostat, because these, used to the manufacturers instructions, are much safer.

6. Candles. Never leave them in a room that is unoccupied or in a room where children are on their own. Ensure they are placed securely on a surface that won't burn and not near any flamable material that could blow over or onto them, for instance curtains.

7. If anyone in the house smokes, ensure they are always completely extinguished when finished and disposed of only when cold. Never smoke in bed because it is too easy to fall asleep with a lighted cigarette.

8. At night, before you retire, get into the habit of closing internal doors, especially to the kitchen and lounge area.

9. Beware overloading electrical sockets. Each socket should have a maximum total fuse of 13 amps. So even if you are using a multiple socket extension for several low power pieces of computer equipment ensure that the total maximum consumption is no more than 3kw.

10. Store matches and lighters in a safe place away from children.

11. Remember to be particularly aware when you are tired or when you've been drinking.

12. Avoid leaving equipment such as TV and audio equipment on standby overnight, always turn them off. They do cause fires when everyone is in bed and least able to avoid injury.

13. Make sure all flammable liquids are keep in a fire proof box or tin in the shed, not in the house.

14. Check flexes and cables for any exposed wires. If you find any problems, contact a qualified electrician.

Smoke Alarms

Remember that every year fires in homes account for over 550 deaths and thousands of injures, many of these could be prevented. Smoke detectors sense the smallest particles of smoke when articles are perhaps only smouldering and not yet firmly alight. Ensure you have an alarm fitted on each level of your home as a minimum, but not in the kitchen, bathroom or garage. Providing this early warning it allows more time, and a less hostile environment to get out of your home in time. Also having such an early warning gives you more time to phone 999, which could also save your house.

There is no point just fitting a fire alarm and forgetting about it. You must regularly check the battery is still working, and remember to replace it every year.

1. When you go out to by your smoke alarms you make sure they are manufactured to British Standard BS 5446 part 1 and carry the Kitemark.

2. Your smoke alarms should be screwed to the ceiling because this is where smoke accumulates first and should be mounted strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's fitting instructions for maximum safety.

3. To continue offering you protection you should follow the alarm safety procedures. Once a month you must check the alarm by pressing the test button. Every six months vacuum out the sensor and the air vents in the cover to ensure nothing is blocking the sensor chamber. If the alarm is mains powered, switch it off first. Once a year replace the battery. Every ten years replace the complete alarms.
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Most cooking fires result from problems with chip pans used on the cooker.

Chip pans can be very dangerous we recommend that you buy a proper deep fat fryer. If you do use a chip pan go and buy a fire blanket. NEVER leave chip pan unattended. When you cook any thing make sure you dry it first in a tea towel before you put it into the oil, if you have a basket put the food in the basket and slowly lower the basket into the oil.

Firstly NEVER fill the chip pan more than one-third full of fat or oil because it could spill over when you add the food to it, and catch fire.

Never put the food in the pan if the oil begins to give off smoke. The oil has become too hot and when you add food to over-heated oil, it can make the pan spill over causing a fire. Always turn the pan off and let the oil cool.

Never leave the pan unattended when the heat is switched on. As the pan can ignite very easily. Always make sure you have turned the pan off properly when you have finished.

If your pan catches fire;

Stay calm and don’t panic. If you feel you CANNOT handle it GET OUT, shut the door and call 999.

Whatever you do, NEVER throw water over a chip pan fire, as it will create a fireball.

If you are confident you are in no danger and only the pan is alight, try to turn off the heat if it is safe to do so. Remove your fire blanket from its sleve, carefully cover the pan ensuring that you don't move it, avoiding the flames with yourself, clothing and hair.Leave it to cool completely for a minimum of thirty minutes. If you don't have a fire blanket, wet a cloth under a tap and WRING IT OUT then use as a fire blanket.

Don't move the pan, until it has cooled fully.
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Fire Evacuation Plan

Always have a quick and simple fire escape route planned and make sure that the whole family knows about it and practice the escape route once every 3 months. If you live in a house were the upstairs windows are high off the floor, buy a fire escape rope ladder that you can fit to most windows to enable you to escape safely. Finally, too many locks & bolts can result in you becoming trapped!

Doors

Always close the doors at night, even an ordinary internal door will help to slow a fire down, and give you valuable minutes or even the few seconds to allow you to get out safely. If there is ever a fire in your house always touch the door before you open it, if the door is warm their could be a fire on the other side so try to get out another way.
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Cigarettes, cigars and pipes

Never leave cigarettes, pipes and cigars unattended and always make sure you put them out fully. So long as it is still smoking it can cause a fire. Never smoke in bed. If you have been smoking in the living room don’t leave the ash try on the arm of the sofa, as it can be knocked off onto the sofa and cause a fire. Do not smoke when feeling tied or if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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For more information on how to improve your fire safety and assistance on how to deal with a fire in your home visit www.firekills.gov.uk

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