Fire, Electrical, Heating and Cooking Safety

Fires can start suddenly and spread quickly, damaging your home and furniture and putting lives in danger. They are caused in a variety of ways, but there are a few simple hints you can follow to prevent them starting. Continue...

 

• Keep all fires and heaters well guarded, especially open fires. For fitted or portable heaters with a built in guard, give extra protection by adding a surrounding guard particularly if you have young children or older people in the home. For children, use a nursery guard with side clips that fit into fixed wall brackets
• Keep portable heaters and candles away from furniture and curtains. Position safely where they cannot be knocked over
• Don’t dry or air clothes over or near the fire, or the cooker
• Do not smoke in bed
• Many fires start in the kitchen, especially fat fires. Never leave a pan unattended when deep fat frying and watch for overheating. For safer frying use oven chips or a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer
• If there are children around, keep matches and lighters well out of reach
• Fit approved smoke detectors on each floor. Choose a smoke alarm that is mains operated or one with a long life (ten year) battery
• Plan your escape route. Remember Get out, stay out and call the fire brigade out!

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Electrical Safety

Many accidents and fatalities involve electricity - it must be treated with respect. Here are some tips.

• Have your wiring installation checked at least once every five years by an approved contractor, or straightaway if you are buying an older property
• Do not use appliances with worn or damaged flexes. Don’t wire flexes together
• Keep portable mains-operated appliances out of the bathroom
• Have electric blankets serviced and checked regularly
• If an appliance appears faulty stop using it and have it checked at once
• Consider having a RCD (residual current device) for whole house protection. These are especially valuable when power tools are used
• Look for the CE mark when you buy electrical equipment
• Never overload an electric socket.

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Heating and Cooking

Safety is especially important when choosing and using heating products.

• All fuel-burning appliances use up fresh air as they burn, and give off waste gases including the deadly carbon monoxide (CO). Never block air vents or airbricks and service appliances annually
• Be aware of symptoms of CO poisoning such as drowsiness and flu like symptoms
• If you use a chimney or flue, or bring one back into use, have it swept at least once a year, or more frequently if you burn wood
• Never block any outside grilles or rest anything against it
• If a gas flame, which normally burns blue, burns orange this may be a built up of carbon monoxide. Have your appliance checked immediately
• Check the pilot regularly on gas cookers and water heaters to make sure it has not gone out
• When buying gas appliances look for the British Standards safety mark or British Seal of Approval and beware of second hand bargains and cowboy installers
• If you suspect a gas leak, open the windows, turn off the supply and call your gas supplier. Don’t operate switches as a spark could ignite the gas
• Always keep a special watch on young children and elderly people when fires and heaters are in use.