Fire Safety Week

Across the globe, this week is Fire Safety Week, as well as October being Fire Prevention Month. Although the UK doesn’t necessarily observe this week anymore, we thought we would continue to point out the importance of fire knowledge and highlight key preventative measures that you can take.

It is important to have basic fire safety knowledge for both your home and your workplace to help prevent injury or death in the case of a fire. Less than 50% of homeowners have an escape plan and 60% of us do not test our smoke alarms regularly. By just implementing these two very small changes you can increase your chances of survival. Part of the workplace health and safety law states that you must have the appropriate fire extinguishers as well as the right quantity of them in your place of work, but this isn’t applicable for domestic premises. Two more, quick and simple tools you can put into place are having a fire extinguisher in your home as well as a Carbon Monoxide alarm. 

Carbon Monoxide alarms look incredibly similar to smoke alarms however these detect what is known as ‘the silent killer’. Carbon Monoxide has no odour and no taste and can cause illness after a short time and even death after long term exposure. This type of poisoning occurs because of faulty heating systems or pipe work, open fires, or any other appliance when the fuel does not fully burn.

The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Month is- learning the sounds of fire safety. Is there a beep or a chirp coming from your smoke or carbon monoxide alarm? Hearing a chirp from either alarm means you need to make a change; either the battery or entire alarm must be replaced as soon as you can.If you hear a beep get on your feet! A beeping alarm means that smoke or carbon monoxide is being detected so you must leave the building immediately and call the appropriate service. 

In the workplace, there should be a dedicated fire officer whose job it is to undertake all of the fire safety responsibilities including testing the alarm system, checking the signs to ensure these are clear to read and not damaged or obstructed, and also check that the fire extinguishers are also in clear view and not hidden or obstructed. An external fire company may come in periodically to run a fire safety audit and check the expiry dates on fire extinguishers and blankets. 

Although you may not be your company's fire officer, you can still take the time to educate yourself on some simple fire fighting, and fire safety facts, as well as familiarise yourself with the fire signs and the location of the fire extinguishers and fire blankets. Below is a simple table to show you the different types of fire extinguishers and what each can be used for. This is crucial in basic fire fighting to prevent injury to yourself and others if you ever have to help put out a small fire.

We have also included below the links to our website where you will be able to purchase fire prevention tools that are suitable for use in your home or workplace-

Fire Safety Equipment (including blankets, log books and alarms)-

https://www.officestationery.co.uk/facilities/health-safety/fire-safety/

Fire Extinguishers-

https://www.officestationery.co.uk/facilities/health-safety/fire-extinguishers/

Fire Safety Signs-

https://www.officestationery.co.uk/facilities/health-safety/fire-safety-signs/

Fire Extinguisher Signs-

https://www.officestationery.co.uk/facilities/health-safety/fire-extinguisher-signs/