Domestic fire safety
Domestic Fire Safety
Keep your home safe against fire
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We can help make sure your home is safe for you and your family and give you peace of mind.
Sound advice to safeguard your home
In the kitchen
- Take extra care if you need to leave the kitchen whilst cooking, take pans off the heat or turn them down to avoid risk.
- Avoid cooking when under the influence of alcohol.
- Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. Keep matches and sauce pan handles out of their reach to keep them safe.
- Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove.
- Take care if you’re wearing loose clothing – they can easily catch fire.
- Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.
- Spark devices are safer than matches or lighters to light gas cookers, because they don’t have a naked flame.
- Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking
- Keep electrics (leads and appliances) away from water.
- Check toasters are clean and placed away from curtains and kitchen rolls.
- Keep the oven, hob and grill clean and in good working order. A build up of fat and grease can ignite a fire.
- Don’t put anything metal in the microwave
- Take care when cooking with hot oil – it sets alight easily.
- Make sure food is dry before putting it in hot oil so it doesn’t splash.
- If the oil starts to smoke – it’s too hot. Turn off the heat and leave it to cool.
- Use a thermostat controlled electric deep fat fryer. They can’t overheat.
- If a pan catches fire don’t take any risks. Turn off the heat if it’s safe to do so. Never throw water over it. Use a fire blanket if you have one. Call the fire brigade immediately do not tackle the fire yourself. Get out of the house!
How to avoid electrical fires
- Always check that you use the right fuse to prevent overheating.
- Make sure an electrical appliance has a British or European safety mark when you buy it.
- Certain appliances, such as washing machines, should have a single plug to themselves, as they are high powered. Try and keep to one plug per socket.
- When charging electrical goods, follow the manufacturer’s instructions and look for the CE mark that indicates chargers comply with European safety standards.
- An extension lead or adaptor will have a limit to how many amps it can take, so be careful not to overload them to reduce the risk of a fire. Appliances use different amounts of power – a television may use a 3amp plug and a vacuum cleaner a 5amp plug for example.
- Keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order to prevent them triggering a fire.
- Keep your eyes peeled for signs of dangerous or loose wiring such as scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets, fuses that blow or circuit-breakers that trip for no obvious reasons, or flickering lights.
- Check and replace any old cables and leads, especially if they are hidden from view, behind furniture or under carpets and mats.
- Unplugging appliances helps reduce the risk of fire.
- Unplug appliances when you’re not using them or when you go to bed.
Portable heaters
Try to secure heaters up against a wall to stop them falling over. Keep them clear from curtains and furniture and never use them for drying clothes.
Cigarettes
- If possible do not smoke in the home
- Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully. Put them out. Right out!
- Never smoke in bed.
- Use a proper ashtray – never a wastepaper basket.
- Make sure your ashtray can’t tip over and is made of a material that won’t burn.
- Don’t leave a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe lying around. They can easily fall over and start a fire.
- Take extra care if you smoke when you’re tired, taking prescription drugs, or if you’ve been drinking. You might fall asleep and set your bed or sofa on fire.
- Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach.
- Consider buying child resistant lighters and match boxes.
What to do if there is a fire
Keep calm and act quickly, get everyone out as soon as possible. Don’t waste time investigating
what’s happened or rescuing valuables. If there’s smoke, keep low where the air is clearer. Before you open a door check if it’s warm. If it is, don’t open it – fire is on the other side. Call 999 as soon as you’re clear of the building. 999 calls are free.
JC Security supply, install, and maintain smoke detector systems. We cover domestic and commercial premises, in the Torbay Teignbridge and South Hams area. We also cover the south west of England ranging from Bristol down to Penzance. If you have any concerns or would like to speak to us about your home or business please get in touch using the button below.
Data source from www.gov.uk
