Fire safe families
He ran upstairs and into a wall of black smoke and could feel instense heat coming through the walls
Coroner's report, death of a 5 year old who played with a lighter
You are your family are eight times more likely to die in a fire if you don't have a working smoke alarm. That's because, if a fire breaks out at night, you won't smell the smoke and wake up. Instead, the poisonous fumes will send you deeper into sleep.
So it makes sense to have a fire alarm upstairs and downstairs to save you from smoke that can kill in minutes, before you even wake up.
Prevent fires
- cooking fires are the main cause of fires in the home, stay in the kitchen if children are cooking
- keep matches, lighters and lit candles or tea lights well out of reach of young children and teach children not to play with them
- take care not to plug lots of chargers and equipment into an extension lead from one electrical socket, the socket will be dangerously overloaded
- stay close by when you have fat heating and never pour water onto hot fat
- store things like hair straighteners safely, avoid leaving them switched on or where a child might be able to switch them in
- double check your cigarette is out and be careful smoking if you're really tired or in bed in case you fall asleep with it in your hand
Check your smoke alarms
- you need a working smoke alarm upstairs and downstairs
- test your alarms every month
- if you live in rented housing your landlord is responsible for providing alarms
Plan your escape
- work out your escape route in case of a fire and practice it with your family
- keep the stairs and escape route clear of clutter at night
- keep keys to any doors on your escape route in one place so you know where they are in an emergency
Teach children what to do if they see fire
- to tell someone straight away, a grown-up if possible
- don't try to put the fire out yourself
- get outside as quickly as possible, dont try to hide from the fire
- never go back inside for anything