Fire Safety at Home
Fire safety is an incredibly important issue, particularly in the home where you want to keep your family and possessions safe. In a house fire, it only takes up to three breaths of toxic fumes to cause a person to be unconscious, with death quickly following. In the UK last year, there were over 49,000 house fires which resulted in 90 deaths from a lack of working smoke detectors.
To protect your family and your home, you need to ensure you have the correct measures in place and have the correct knowledge on acting appropriately. This blog will cover all you need to know to ensure full fire safety in the home.
Install smoke alarms
Smoke alarms provide us with an early warning when a fire has started. You should fit them in all rooms where a fire might likely start, but in rooms where they’re likely to be steamy or smokey, like a bathroom or kitchen, a heat alarm may be more appropriate. They work by detecting when a room hits a certain temperature and can be bought for as little as £10.
It’s important to test your alarms and ensure you can hear them from your bedroom, which will be essential for the safety of your family when you’re sleeping.
Make an escape plan
It’s very easy to freeze or panic when a fire occurs, but if you have an emergency escape plan in place it can limit the amount of hesitation in the situation. When planning an escape plan, have two options; a first one with the clearest and easiest way out of your home, and a second in case the first one is blocked. This plan may have to change depending on who's in your family and where their rooms are located in the house. Be sure everyone knows their escape route, especially younger children.
Take every precaution when cooking
Around 60% of home fires start in the kitchen, so extra precautions are needed when cooking to ensure a fire doesn’t start. As mentioned previously, be sure to have a heat detector fitted over a smoke detector for practical reasons, and it is worth keeping a fire extinguisher and fire blanket in your kitchen to prevent a small fire from spreading.
Remember to never leave a pan on and unattended, don’t put anything metal in a microwave, don’t put water on an oil fire, and be wary of fabrics and clothes when cooking near a flame. If your clothes do catch fire, stop, drop and roll the flames out.
Don’t smoke in the home
The safest way to smoke at home is to stop. Smoking is one of the top causes of fire fatalities, but if stopping smoking isn’t something you are willing to consider, then be sure to smoke outside your house to limit the risk of a fire. We recommend using a proper ashtray to dispose of cigarettes and leaving them to cool down before disposing of them in a bin.
Book a home visit with the Fire Service
Successful fire safety starts with prevention, if you want your home double-checking for hazards and risks, you can book a home visit with your local fire service. They are completely free, and available 24/7, and will even fit free smoke alarms during the visit if you need them.
If you require any further information or want to enquire about our one-stop-shop to book a risk assessment, then contact us today on 0800 799 9514, or click here to fill out our online enquiry form.
