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Following a few safety tips can help you and your loved ones stay safe, especially at this time of year when we’re spending more time indoors or using more candles around the home.
The easiest way to protect your home and family from fire is by having working smoke alarms - so get them, install them and test them regularly.
Did you know…?
• you’re four times more likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a smoke alarm that works
• about half of home fires are caused by cooking accidents
• three fires a day are started by candles
• every five days someone dies from a fire caused by a cigarette
• faulty electrics (appliances, wiring and overloaded sockets) cause about 6,000 fires in the home across the country every year
• careless or inappropriate use of portable electric heaters can also lead to fires.
Be prepared by making an escape plan:
• plan an escape route and make sure everyone knows it
• make sure exits are kept clear and never charge any electrical equipment or batteries in your escape routes
• the best route is the normal way in and out of your home
• think of a second route in case the first one is blocked.
Find useful fire and other safety information on the Avon Fire and Rescue Service website.
You can also follow the service on Facebook or Twitter.
Recycle batteries safely
Batteries left in a small electrical appliance caused a fire at Backwell recycling centre recently.
In October Backwell recycling centre had to close for most of a day because of a contained fire which broke out within one of the waste collection containers.
An investigation found this was very likely to have been caused by batteries being left in a small electrical appliance when it was thrown away.
Thankfully no-one was hurt but Avon Fire and Rescue Service officers attended for two hours.
Batteries contain heavy metals including lead, mercury, zinc and lithium – all of which can be recycled and used to make new batteries and other products.
However, when they end up in the wrong place, they can cause fires which are hard to extinguish.
When disposing of electrical items in your kerbside recycling boxes, please remove batteries and place them into an untied clear plastic bag inside your box. Never put them in your waste bin.
Also check for ‘hidden batteries’ inside small electrical items, such as disposable e-cigarettes, toothbrushes, shavers, chargers and toys. Batteries in these items still need to be removed.
Also remove batteries if you’re taking your electrical item straight to a recycling centre.
If batteries, or electricals containing batteries, are not properly separated they can end up being crushed in the waste and recycling process.
This increases the chances they will be punctured and self-combust, setting fire to the surrounding dry and flammable waste and recycling.
Batteries are also harmful to the environment if they end up in the ground.
Lithium-ion batteries are responsible for about 48 per cent (more than 200) of all waste fires in the UK each year, according to the Environmental Services Association.