Fire safety advice for a happy Christmas
WILTSHIRE Fire And Rescue Service is working with the national Fire Kills campaign to urge local people to have fire safety at the top of their Christmas list.
Fire statistics show 20 people a day are either killed or injured in the home during December.
Watch Manager Neil Chamberlain, from the community safety department, said: “Christmas is a time for having fun with family and friends, but it is also a time when extra fire hazards are introduced to the home, such as fairy lights, candles and decorations.”
The service offers these tips:
- Ensure you have a working smoke alarm installed on all levels of your home.
- Make sure gas fires and central heating systems are serviced by a qualified engineer, and install carbon monoxide alarms.
- Check on older relatives and neighbours this Christmas to ensure their safety, as they are at greater risk from fire.
- Never leave cooking unattended.
- Make sure cigarettes are fully extinguished.
- Never leave burning candles unattended. Keep candles out of the reach of children, and away from decorations, cards and wrapping paper.
- Don’t overload sockets – use only one plug per socket.
- Ensure you switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed or leave the house. Check your lights conform to British Standard BS EN 60598.
- Always use a residual current device on outdoor electrical equipment. This switches off the power if there is a fault and can be bought in any DIY store.
- Residual current devices can also be used with electric blankets, to prevent an overload of electricity being supplied to a faulty blanket.