Spring highlights safety message
Change your clocks and check your smoke alarms – that’s the message coming from Warwickshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service this week as we prepare for the beginning of spring.
As the clocks go forward to mark the official end of the winter, we will all lose an hours sleep, but that’s nothing to those hundreds of people who are seriously injured or even killed each year because they haven’t checked their smoke alarm. So when you move your clock forward this week, please remember to check your smoke alarm, it could save you and your family’s lives!
County Fire Officer, William Brown said:
“Smoke alarms have been responsible for detecting many of the 60,000 house fires the Fire and Rescue Service are called to each year … but many of the hundreds of deaths that occur each year could be avoided if smoke alarms had been checked and working.
“Recently there has been a 30% increase in cases where a smoke alarm didn’t work because the battery was disconnected, missing or needed replacing.”
Smoke alarms are inexpensive, from less than £5, and available in DIY stores and at many supermarkets. Always make sure that they meet the BS5446 Part 1, have a ‘KITEMARK’ and that they are fitted in accordance with the instructions provided. Alternatively Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service provide a free Home Fire Safety Check service. To find out more log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue
For longer-term protection and peace of mind, it’s a good idea to fit 10-year smoke alarms.
How Do I Look After My Smoke Alarm?
1. Once a year – Change your battery (unless it’s a 10-year alarm).
2. Once a week – Check the alarm by pressing the button.
3. Twice a year – Vacuum and wipe the smoke alarm casing to ensure dust isn’t blocking the sensor chamber. (For mains wired alarms, switch off first.)
Whatever happens – never remove the battery to use it for other purposes.
William Brown added: “We know that smoke alarms save lives. They can give you and your family the necessary warning to get out in the early stages of a fire, which should in turn allow us to get to you more quickly. Once fitted they do require testing and some simple cleaning. The one somber message I would leave you with is dead batteries can be replaced, dead families cannot!”