Free Home Safety Advice

 

There are many things that can cause a fire in the home, but here are a few of the more common causes:

• Accidents in the kitchen and faulty or poorly maintained equipment
• Faulty electrical appliances and wiring
• Smoking materials
• Candles
• Heaters and fires
• Practice safe cooking: take care in the kitchen – most fires start here, so never leave your cooking unattended and take extra care with hot oil.
• Be careful with candles: Never leave lit candles unattended.
• Be careful with cigarettes: Make sure cigarettes are stubbed out and disposed of carefully and never smoke in bed.
• Don’t overload electrical sockets.
• Keep matches away from children.
• Do not store flammable liquids such as petrol in your home, bin store or chutes.
• Keep internal doors closed: when you go to bed, make sure that you’ve closed all the internal doors. This helps to slow the spread of fire 
• Practice your escape plan - In a smoky, scary atmosphere, it’s easy to freeze, panic and become disorientated. By planning and practising how you will escape with the whole family, you can be more confident about a safe escape

 

So what can you do?

Install a smoke detector.

• A working smoke alarm will greatly reduce the risk of injury or death due to fire. A smoke alarm is the easiest way to alert you to the first signs of a fire, giving you precious time to escape. They are cheap, easy to get hold of and easy to fit.
• You should have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home
• Test the batteries in your smoke detector every week
• Plan an escape route from your home, should the normal route from your home be blocked
• Read the Fire Safety in the Home leaflet from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
• In case of a fire, keep calm, get everyone out, stay out and call 999.

 

 

For more advice on fire prevention and how you can protect your home, go to The Essex County Fire & Rescue website. Click on the link or image below: -

 Safety Advice | Essex County Fire and Rescue Service