Each year, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) carries out thousands of Home Safety Visits to elderly people and others who may need extra support in keeping their homes safe from fire, along with giving fire safety advice to Northamptonshire residents over the phone and on-line. Important fire safety advice can be given over the phone, face to face in a home visit, or found on-line on our website. We can give advice about smoke alarms, cooking safety and general fire safety such as advice on candle and electrical appliance use. Advice on bedtime routines (such as closing internal doors at night) and tips on planning and protecting escape routes, in case of fire, is also given. The usual procedure in a Home Safety Visit either face to face or over the telephone is to check a person’s home to identify any potential fire risks and also to make sure they have measures in place, such as the correct number of smoke alarms, to protect and warn them in case of a fire. To find out more about Home Safety Visits, please visit: http://www.northantsfire.gov.uk/safety/home-safety-checks/
Top tips for making sure your home is fire safe:
1) Make sure you have working smoke alarms installed in your home. They need to be on every level of your property, and never remove the batteries unless they need changing.
2) Take time to look after your smoke alarms so that they can look after you. Dust/hoover around the edges of your alarm, as alarms can be affected by a build-up of dirt, dust and insects.
3) Make sure smoke alarms are tested once a month. Remember, press to test. If the alarm needs new batteries, replace them immediately. If your smoke alarm is over 10 years old, replace it completely.
4) If there was a fire in your home, could you escape safely? Prepare a fire escape plan that you and everyone you live with knows, so you know how to get out quickly in case of fire.
5) Never leave cooking, candles or cigarettes unattended.
6) Never overload your electrical sockets.
7) Never put white goods on when you go to bed or leave the house.
8) Have chimneys swept regularly.
9) Have your boiler serviced regularly and install a Carbon Monoxide alarm in your house.
10) If you can, close doors when you go to bed at night, and unplug or turn off anything that you are not using.
