Fire safety advice to help protect your family

Here at Heart we know that your family is most important to you. Our essential tips below on how to prevent a fire and what to do if the worst happens will help you protect your loved ones and ensure their safety in the event of a fire.. You could also win a fire safety visit to your children’s school so the kids will learn all about staying safe from fire.

Hopefully a fire will never happen, but it’s best to be sensible and take precautions. The most important thing you can do to protect your family in a fire is fit a working smoke alarm and test it once a week, just in case you might need it.

In a house fire, you might think that the smell of smoke would wake you and give you and your family time to escape. But in fact, just two or three breaths of toxic smoke can leave you unconscious. A few simple steps could help keep you and your family safe from fire - from making sure that cooking and candles are never left unattended, to putting cigarettes out properly. Taking care of the little things can help protect what matters most to you.

Test it weekly
A working smoke alarm can buy you the valuable time needed to escape a house fire. But whilst the majority of homes in England now have at least one smoke alarm installed, many of them are clogged, broken, or have a flat battery. It is vital that you test your smoke alarm at least once a week to check it works properly.

Fire spreads quickly, so it is important that you know the best way out to safety in the event of a fire. Plan your escape route and make sure that everybody in your home knows it. Remember, once you are alerted to fire, get out, stay out, call 999, and never attempt to tackle a fire yourself.

Our top fire safety tips:
•    Test your smoke alarm regularly.
•    Never leave cooking or candles unattended and put your cigarettes out properly.
•    Plan your escape route and make sure that everyone in your home knows it.
•    Never attempt to tackle a fire yourself.
•    Once you are alerted to fire get out, stay out and call 999.

Find out more by visiting www.direct.gov.uk/firekills

Take a look at essential videos and have a go at a fire safety game here.

Win a fire safety visit to your children’s school
Want to get your children and their friends clued up by the professionals? Enter your details below to go into a draw and, if selected, we could arrange to have the fire and rescue service visit your children’s school so all the kids will learn about the importance of fire safety.

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