Fact
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For UK customers only
Fire Hazards
Reasons for fires are wide-ranging but the most common cause is cooking. Many fires are preventable with some simple safety measures, for example:
- Fit a smoke alarm and check it regularly
- Make a fire action plan so that everyone in your house knows how to escape in the event of fire
- Take care when cooking with hot oil and think about using thermostatically controlled deep fat fryers
- Never leave lit candles unattended
- Ensure cigarettes are stubbed out and disposed of carefully
- Never smoke in bed
- Keep matches and lighters away from children
- Keep clothing away from heating appliances
- Take care in the kitchen! Accidents whilst cooking account for 59% of fires in the home
- Take special care when you are tired or when you've been drinking. Half of all deaths in domestic fires happen between 10pm and 8am.
Deaths and injuries from fire in the home are reduced when people have early warning of a fire. Smoke alarms provide this and are easy to install, and inexpensive.
Smoke Alarm checklist:
- You should have two smoke alarms – one at ground floor and one on the upstairs landing
- Extra alarms can be fitted in bedrooms and living rooms – not in the kitchen, bathroom or garage
- Alarms should carry the kitemark and be British Standard 5446
- Check the alarms each week by pressing the test button
- Twice a year open the case and gently vacuum the inside to remove dust from the sensors. If it doesn’t open vacuum through the holes.
- Once a year, change the battery, unless you have a 10 year alarm
March 2007