Home Fire Safety Here s what you need to know

Transcription

1 Glasgow Housing Association Your Home Fire Safety Advice Here s what you need to know Better homes, better lives

2 You and GHA We want to help you make your home safe. Working in partnership with Scottish Fire and Rescue we have put together this booklet with hints and advice on how to make your home safe from fire. If you want to know more or need a FREE smoke alarm fitted give us a call on Freephone Need to contact us? Call us 24/7 on Freephone Visit your local housing office Write to us at GHA Customer Service Centre, Lipton House, 170 Crown Street, Glasgow G5 9XD You can also visit us online or send an to talk@gha.org.uk Sheltered Home Fire and Safety very sheltered housing Page 1

3 Fire safety at home Firefighters are urging tenants to stop putting their lives at risk by failing to take simple precautions to prevent fire in the home. You may not think there s a great risk of fire starting in your home. But fires do happen. By taking simple precautions and following the guidelines in this booklet, you can make your home a safer place to live. It s in everyone s best interest that your home, your family and your property is safe from fire. As your landlord, we have to meet certain safety obligations under the law. This includes: Making sure all gas installations are in good working order and inspected annually Providing fire detection equipment for your home, such as a smoke alarm. There should be at least one smoke detector on each floor of the property A general duty to keep homes fit to live in. What can you do to make your home safer? Make sure there is a working smoke alarm fitted in your home. A smoke alarm will give you those precious few minutes of warning which could help you and your family get out safely. Test the batteries every week, change them every year and never leave the alarm without batteries. Your local Community Fire Station will be able to check your home for you and may install a smoke alarm for you. If fitting your own alarm, remember that all alarms must comply with the current British Standard BS5446. Fire safety at home Approximately 65% of house fires start in the kitchen Chip pans, grill pans and electrical faults are the main causes Don t fill chip pans more than two thirds full of oil Clean grill pans after use as the residual fat is a common cause of kitchen fires Have your electrical appliances checked if they are showing signs of wear. Be extra careful with electrics Avoid overloading sockets. Keep to one plug per socket Use a proper British Standard adaptor when using a non-uk electrical appliance. Never put two prong plugs into three prong sockets Ensure all domestic appliances are protected by (fitted with) correctly rated fuses Don t use space heaters for drying clothes and keep all heaters a safe distance away from furniture or other combustible materials to avoid them catching fire Inform GHA immediately by calling if you are concerned about the electrics in your property Don t fix faulty electrics yourself - contact GHA on to report your repair. Page 2 Page 3

4 Don t fuel fire with alcohol Being under the influence of alcohol can greatly increase the risk of fire breaking out. Alcohol is a factor in one third of all fatal fires Be extra careful if you have been drinking alcohol or taking medication which might make you drowsy. Carelessness when smoking or cooking hot food after having consumed alcohol are the commonest causes of fire in the home, even a glass of wine or beer can affect your safety. Stay safe with candles and cigarettes Make sure cigarettes are put out properly after you have finished with them. Never smoke in bed If you are concerned for someone in your household who continually avoids the warning and smokes in bed, then contact your Community Fire Station and they will provide fire retardant bedding Be careful with candles and tea lights. Avoid placing them on or near materials that could burn or catch fire - like curtains. Always make sure that the candles are placed in a holder or similar fire retardant surface Don t place tea lights around plastic baths or television sets without holders. Plan an escape route Plan an escape route and make sure everyone knows how to escape. Make sure your escape routes are kept clear of obstructions and flammable materials. It could save your life. Establish where the fire exits and alarms are if you live in a large or high level building Count how many doors you might need to go through to escape. It can be hard to see in smoke and you might become confused about where you are Keep all exits clear, even communal areas Keep fire doors closed. They help to slow down the spread of fire and will give you extra time to get out Discuss and practice this plan with the other members of your household In the event of a fire, don t stop or go back for your belongings. To find out more visit Page 4 Page 5

5 Free Visits For complete peace of mind, book a Visit with Scottish Fire and Rescue today. Scottish Fire and Rescue are offering FREE home fire safety visits to everyone in the area. Just call , text Check to on your mobile phone or simply fill in the form by visiting our web site and following the Fire Safety Advice link. Your local fire station will then contact you within 7 days to arrange a time and date that suits you. Free home fire safety visits for everyone Alternatively you can phone your local community fire station direct to arrange a home safety visit. During the visit firefighters will check each room of your house with you, helping you to make sure your house is safe. Why should I book a home Safety Visit? Every home is different. A short visit from your local Fire and Rescue Service will help ensure that your home is as safe as it possibly can be. Free Visits Who will come to my home? The Home Safety Visit will be carried out by professional, serving Firefighters from a station near where you live. Always ask to see an identification badge from anyone who calls at your door. What will happen? The firefighters who conduct your Home Safety Visit will ask some questions so that they can check your home for fire hazards. These questions will be for instance, do you smoke, do you take alcohol, do you use a chip pan? They ll give you advice on how to fix them and how to avoid similar problems in future. They ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have - it s what they do! You can be reassured that the Home Safety Visit is not about selling safety equipment or anything else and it is not about promoting any companies or services, so you won t get any sales calls or junk mail as a result. How long will it take? Not long. Most visits take around 20 minutes. Why should I bother the Fire and Rescue Service if there s no fire? Firefighters don t like fires! They would rather attend your home to give advice about fire prevention than attend because of fire. Page 6 Page 7

6 Home Contents Insurance By following the advice in this leaflet you will help to minimise the risk of fire in your home. However we all know accidents can happen so it s important that you consider having protection in place for when the unexpected or the unthinkable happens. Home contents insurance is a way of protecting your belongings against events such as fire, being burgled or burst pipes. We all hope these kinds of problems never happen, but at GHA we would encourage you to consider insuring you and your family s belongings. If you have a question about insurance or would like to receive our Home Contents Information Pack call us on Freephone Would you like to know more about fire safety in your home? Call us on

7 Would you like more information? Freephone: Visit: GHAFS/AUG14 The Glasgow Housing Association Limited is a not-for-profit and registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Scoieties Act 2014 with regsitration no 2572R(S). It is also recognised by HM Revenue and Customs as a Scottish charity (SC034054) and is registered with The Scottish Housing Regulator under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 as a registered social landlord, no VAT registration no Registered office: Wheatley House, 25 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, G1 1HL TO BE UPDATED