Fire Safety
The Facts.
Every year the fire brigade is called out to over 600,000
fires in the home. And every year around 500 people
die in these fires and over 10,000 are injured.
If a fire occurs in your home, your chances of survival
will depend on how quickly and safely you can get out.
This information will give you advice on how to prevent
a fire, and how to protect yourself should one occur.
House Fire
We all try to prevent fires from starting in the home.
But it only takes an unguarded or careless moment for
a fire to start. A couple of minutes later and your
home could be filled with smoke. Smoke and fumes can
kill - particularly the highly poisonous smoke from
some furnishings. You will only have a short time to
get out. Use it wisely and try not to panic.
If your smoke alarm goes off in the night while you
are asleep, do not investigate to see if there is a
fire.
- Shout and wake everyone up
- Get everyone together and make your way out.
- Follow your plan and get out.
Remember it is always better to have a plan which has
been discussed with family members beforehand so that
in the case of fire every family member is prepared
and knows exactly what to do.
If possible close the door of the room where the fire
is and close all doors behind you as you leave. This
will help delay the spread of fire and smoke. Before
opening a closed door use the back of your hand to touch
it. Don't open it if it feels warm the fire could be
on the other side.
- Get everyone out as quickly as possible.
- Don't try to pick up valuables or possessions.
If there is a lot of smoke crawl with your nose close
to the floor, the air should be better and clearer there.
If you live on a ground floor then it will be easier
to get out. If you need to break a window, do so safely
and cover any edges with towels or bedding to cover
edges of broken glass. If you need to get out higher
than the ground floor then throw some bedding onto the
ground to break your fall. Never jump from the window,
lower yourself down and then drop at arms length.
Fire safety at work
Fire safety at work is always vitally important.You
should make sure you and your staff know what to do
to prevent a fire in the workplace and how they will
escape if a fire does break out.
Once a fire has been detected and a warning given,
everyone in your workplace should be able to evacuate
without being placed at undue risk.
In buildings, most deaths from fire are due to the
inhalation of smoke. Also, where smoke is present, people
are often unwilling to travel more than a few metres
through it to make their escape. It is therefore important
to make sure that, in the event of a fire in one part,
people in other parts of the building can use escape
routes to get out safely without being exposed to the
smoke or gases from the fire.
When assessing the means of escape from your workplace,
you should ask yourself whether people could escape
to a place of safety before being cut off and exposed
to risk of injury.
In small, single-storey premises, where travel distances
are short, the time taken for people to escape once
they are aware of the fire can often be measured in
seconds rather than minutes. So it is likely that the
normal exits will be sufficient in an emergency. In
larger premises, where travel distances are greater
and where it is possible for a single route to be affected,
an alternative means of escape will normally be necessary.
In most cases where the means of escape has recently
been approved under building legislation, a fire certificate
or a licence, the existing arrangements will probably
be satisfactory. If your risk assessment suggests that
change may be necessary, you should check what you propose
with the fire authority.
If there is a fire - get out, stay out and
call 999 - don't try to tackle fire yourself.
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