Firefighter Shares Fire Prevention Tips at Carer Support Group
A Long Eaton Firefighter and Foster Carer talks to our carers about common causes of fires in the home, as well as sharing some useful tips on prevention.
Here’s some of the key things we learned from the talk…
Candles are one of the most common causes of fires in homes – In 2014, candles were the cause of 1,087 fires in the UK. Tea lights in particular are a risk because the bottoms can become hot enough to melt and ignite the plastic surfaces they are placed on – for example, the edge of a bath or top of the TV – with devastating results.
Check your smoke alarms every week – It’s important to check your smoke alarms every week – something we all know we should do, but sometimes forget. To help make it part of the household routine, why not check the smoke alarms after putting the rubbish bin out to be collected each week?
Buy 10 year batteries – Buy alarms with sealed 10 year batteries, to save having to replace the batteries every year.
Home visits & fire risk assessments – The role of the fire service is increasingly about helping to reduce the number of fires. This includes visiting people at home to assess the risk of fire, providing advice on improvements and fitting smoke alarms.