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Home \ Tenants \ Living In Your Home \ Keeping safe and secure \ Fire Safety

Fire Safety

We want you to be safe from the risk of fire in your home.

Smoke alarms and fire detection

The best way to protect yourself from fire is to have a smoke alarm - it will give you early warning of a fire in your home.

We provide smoke detectors to all our homes. Your home should have a smoke alarm fitted on every floor. If it hasn’t, let us know straight away and we will fit them for you. We are converting all our smoke alarms from being powered by batteries, to ones which are powered by your mains electricity. They have a battery back up in case your power fails.

Do:

dust your smoke alarm regularly
check your smoke alarm weekly to make sure it is working by pressing the test button
replace the battery if your smoke alarm bleeps for any other reason than smoke or a fire in your house
contact us if you have any problems with your smoke alarm.

Don't:

remove a working battery from your smoke alarm
paint over or remove the smoke alarm.

If you decide to put up extra smoke alarms:

Do:

check with us first to ensure your ceiling doesn't contain asbestos
position them in the middle of the room.

Don't:

put smoke alarms in or near kitchens or bathrooms because everyday steam and smoke can set them off by accident.

If you have any problems with your smoke alarm or have any queries about it, please contact us|.

If you live in one of our sheltered or semi sheltered homes your Community Scheme Manager will check your smoke alarms weekly. If a battery needs replacing they will do it for you.

If your smoke alarm goes off it will automatically contact our emergency call centre. Please answer the call if it is safe for you to do so and explain what has happened.

If you accidentally set off the smoke alarm, please tell the emergency call centre it was a mistake and that everything is alright. They won't mind - better to be safe than sorry.

If you do not speak, they will assume that something is wrong and will, as a precaution, call the Fire and Rescue Service and ask them to go to your home.

Your Community Scheme Manager will also test the fire alarm systems in your scheme's communal areas weekly. This will help you to familiarise you with the sound of the fire alarm.

If you live in a block of flats or a sheltered housing scheme, we will carry out the following regular fire safety checks:

emergency lighting - monthly
fire appliances eg fire hoses and fire extinguishers - annually
fire alarm systems - annually
fire risk assessments - annually.

We will take any action needed to ensure these systems are working properly and comply with the latest standards.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service also carry out spot checks from time to time to ensure that everything is up to standard and to recommend any new best practice.

Fire prevention in your home

Polystyrene Tiles

We actively discourage the use of polystyrene tiles in our homes because older types of these tiles can give off poisonous fumes if they catch fire and may spread fire quickly to other parts of the property.

Because we cannot tell whether polystyrene tiles already put up in our homes are the old, potentially dangersous variety or the new safer variety, we always remove them before re-letting a home.

Don't:

put up polystyrene tiles in your home without contacting us first.

Furniture

Do:

ensure that your furniture has the fire resistant permanent label.

How to prevent common kitchen fires

Do:

keep matches and saucepan handles out of children's reach and don't let saucepan handles stick out from the cooker where they could be easily knocked off the cooker
take the pans off the heat or turn down the heat under the pans, if you have to leave the kitchen whilst cooking
keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker
use spark devices rather than matches or lighters to light gas cookers because they don't have a naked flame
double check the cooker is off when you have finished cooking
keep electrical leads and appliances away from water
keep toasters clean and away from curtains and kitchen rolls
keep your cooker clean and free from fat and grease which can catch light and cause a fire
use a thermostat controlled electric deep fat fryer, which cannot over heat, rather than hot oil in a saucepan which can easily overheat and catch fire
keep the oil to below one third of the height of the pan if you do use a saucepan, and make sure food is dry before placing it in the hot oil - it could splash and spit hot oil on you
turn off the heat and leave the oil to cool down if it starts to smoke - it's too hot.

Dont:

leave children in the kitchen on their own when you are cooking
wear loose clothing when cooking as it could easily catch fire
put anything metal in the microwave
take any risks, if oil in a pan catches fire, turn off the heat if it is safe to do so
try to put and oil pan fire out with water as it could just lead to the burning oil exploding over you and the kitchen
take a burning saucepan outside as oxygen will feed the fire and make it worse. Just get out, stay out and call 999.

How to prevent common electrical fires

Do:

always check that you use the right fuse to prevent your plug overheating
make sure your electrical appliance has a British or European safety mark
use one plug per socket rather than using adaptors or extension leads. High powered appliances such as washing machines should always have a single plug socket to themselves.
keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order to prevent them causing a fire
look for signs of dangerous or loose wiring such as scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets, flickring lights, fuses that blow or circuit breakers that trip for nor obvious reason
replace any old cables or leads
unplug appliances that you are not using, to reduce the risk of fire and save on your electricity costs
unplug electric blankets before going to bed if they don't have a thermostatic control for safe all night use
try to secure portable heaters up against a wall to stop them falling over
keep portable heaters away from curtains and furniture and never use them for drying clothes
replace electric blankets immediately if they show wear and tear.

Don't:

overload an extension lead or adaptor - check it's limit eg an extension's limit may be 13 amps, into which you would not want to put 4x5 amp appliances, as this adds up to 20 amps - well above the 13 amp limit for the extension.
leave electric blankets folded as this damages the internal wiring, store them flat or rolled up instead
buy second hand electric blankets.

How to avoid common cigarette fires

Do:

stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully in metal bins which don't already have things in them that could catch fire
use a proper ashtray, which cannot tip over and is made of a material that will not burn
keep matches and lighters away from children, consider buying child resistent lighters and matchboxes.

Dont:

smoke in bed
leave a cigarette, cigar or pipe lying around, it could easily fall over and start a fire
smoke when you are tired, taking prescription drugs or drinking - you could fall asleep and set whatever you are sleeping on, on fire.

How to prevent common candle fires

Do:

put candles in a proper holder
use a snuffer or a spoon to put out candles - it's safer than blowing them out which could result in flying sparks.

Don't:

leave children alone with candles
leave candles lit when going to bed.

Checklist - before you go to bed at night

Do:

make sure all doors are closed
make sure all exits are clear
make sure the cooker is turned off
turn off all electrical appliances e.g. television, and unplug them
make sure any candles are put out
turn off any heaters and put up fire guards
make sure any cigarette ends are out and empty any ashtrays.

Don't:

smoke in bed or leave cigarette ends burning
use safety chains on doors at night as they could slow your exit
leave appliances working overnight e.g. washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer.

Planning a safe escape

Preparing and practising an escape plan will help to ensure that you and your family can escape safely if there is a fire.

Do:

make sure everyone inyour home knows where the door and window keys are kept
make sure exits are kept clear
identify a quick and easy route out of your home
think of another route in case the first one is blocked
make sure everyone living with you knows what to do in a fire.

What to do if there's a fire

If you live in a sheltered flat and the fire or smoke is not in your home

Do:

stay in your home
close all doors behind you
move towards a window so that you can be seen from the outside
get ready to be evacuated e.g. get dressed, collect walking sticks, house keys etc
wait for the Senoir Fire Officer to decide when to evacuate the building. S/he will have a list of all the residents who need help
stay in your home until told that it is safe to leave, or you are told to evacuate
leave by the safest route and report to the assembly point in the car park
stay at the assembly point until the Senior Fire Officer tells you what to do next.

Don't:

use the lift
let visitors throught the communal door entry system unless they are emergency personnel needing to get into the building
leave your home until told that it is safe to do so
go out into the corridors to investigate
block corridors, keep escape routes clear at all times.

If there's a fire in your home (or in a block of flats not in a sheltered scheme) -Don't tackle the fire yourself.

Do:

keep calm and leave immediately, closing all doors behind you
crawl out at ground level if smoke is making it difficult for you to breathe - smoke tends to rise and breathing should be easier the closer you are to the ground
check doors before opening them, with your hand. If it's warm, don't open it - the fire is on the other side
raise the alarm by activating a fire alarm point if you are in a block of flats, this will automatically raise the alarm. Alternatively, dial 999, ask for the Fire and Rescue Service and tell them your home address and location
go to a place of safety and stay there until told what to do by a Senior Fire Officer.

Don't:

waste time investigating what's happened or rescuing valuables.

If you are trapped by smoke or fire

try to take refuge in a room with a window or external door that isn't affected by fire or smoke
make sure you close the door behind you to delay the fire. If you can, place a wet piece of clothing or towel across the bottom of the door to prevent smoke getting in
if there is an exit door or window from the room, use it to escape
if the window is locked, use a large heavy object to break the window in the bottom corner
if you are on the first floor, throw something out of the window which will help to break your fall, such as cushions, and then lower yourself by your arms from the window ledge before dropping. Don't jump.
if there are two adults, one should go down first to catch children. The other should get into a secure position and then lower the children as far as possible down the outside wall before letting them drop.
if you are above first-floor level, or due to your age or health cannot get out of a window, open the window and draw attention to yourself by shouting and waving white sheets or clothes. Wait until the emergency services arrive to rescue you.

If your clothes catch fire

Stop! Drop! Roll!

Do:

lie down and roll around. It makes it harder for the fore to spread and may put out some of the flames.
smother the flames with a heavy material like a coat or blanket, it will help deprive the fire of oxygen which it needs to keep burning.

Don't: