Fire safety

What should I do if there’s a fire in my home?

1. Have an escape plan and make sure that everyone knows it
2. Let everyone in your home know that there’s a smoke alarm going off and make your way to your escape route
3. Close the fire doors behind you to stop the fire from spreading
4. Crawl along the floor if there’s smoke – the air will be clearer
5. Once you’re safe outside, call 999 for the fire emergency services.

Once you’re safe outside, call 999 for the fire emergency service.

Top fire safety tips in your home

There are a few things you can do to improve safety at home. Follow these simple tips:

• Never leave cooking unattended
• Double check that the oven/hob is off when you’ve finished cooking
• Keep hot pans out of the reach of children
• Don’t put anything metal in the microwave that can cause a fire
• Keep the oven, hob and grill clean - a build-up of fat and grease can easily catch fire
• Avoid cooking if you’re tired, have been drinking alcohol or taking medication that might make you drowsy
• Use a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer. If you’re using a chip pan to deep fat fry, never fill a pan more than one-third of fat or oil and don’t leave the pan on its own when the heat is switched on

Prepare your escape plan

Your escape plan is usually your normal way out of the house, so keep those exits clear. Make sure everyone else in your household knows what the escape plan in a fire is, too.

It’s also important that you keep the doors and windows clear where everyone can get to them. And, make sure you keep fire doors closed as they help to slow down the spread of the fire and give you extra time to get out.

Know your building’s evacuation plan

If you live in large blocks of flats, you might be given ‘stay put and wait for rescue’ advice if there’s a fire. If lots of people are moving around the building it can help smoke spread and cause panic as people try and exit the building through narrow corridors and down staircases.

Make sure that stairwells and landings in communal areas are kept clear so that it’s easy for people to leave the building. We’ll regularly check the communal areas and will ask you to remove anything that’s placed outside your flat if it’s a hazard.

If you’re not sure what your building’s evacuation plan is, then please contact us so we can go through it with you.

Electrical fire safety tips for your home

Electrical equipment can be very dangerous if it’s not used and looked after properly. Here are a few things you can do to stop an electrical fire in your home:

• Don’t overload wall sockets and extension leads with lots of plugs
• Look for signs of dangerous or loose wires. Things like scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets and fuses that blow or circuit-breakers that trip
• Keep portable heaters away from curtains and furniture and never use them to dry clothes

How we’re keeping you safe in your home

Here’s what we do to keep you safe in your home and prevent a fire from happening by:

• Testing the system regularly and checking that fire doors are closing and exit routes are clear
• Visiting twice a year to service and maintain all fire equipment
• Responding to fire alarm repairs within 24 hours
• Regularly carrying out fire risk assessments

We're always happy to give advice to you on fire safety, so if you’re not sure how to use your fire alarm panel for example. We can show you how to use that. We’ll also ask you to always keep the emergency vehicle parking bays clear, so that the emergency services can get to you quickly if there’s a fire.