Posted: Tuesday 31 January 2023, 15:49
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service (DFRS) is joining other fire and rescue services across the country in supporting the national Fire Kills campaign for 2023 to highlight the everyday accidents that can cause a fire in your home.
Fire Kills, developed by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the Home Office, aims to reduce preventable deaths by raising awareness of fire safety.
Launching on 1 February and running throughout the month, the latest campaign will highlight the main causes of accidental fires in the home - such as cooking and cigarettes - and include messages to reduce the risks.
Prevention Station Manager Nic Lacey said: “During 2021/22, our Firefighters attended 377 accidental fires in homes across Derbyshire. This is why it is important for us to support campaigns such as Fire Kills – it allows us to join a national message and highlight that it only takes one accident to start a fire, whether it be disposing of a cigarette incorrectly or leaving cooking unattended.”
To support the Fire Kills campaign, DFRS will also be highlighting the importance of purchasing smoke alarms, testing them regularly and where they should be fitted.
This includes targeted messaging to landlords and people living in rental accommodation to make sure landlords know their obligations and that tenants know they have a legal responsibility to keep them safe.
Station Manager Lacey continued: “Smoke alarms remain the most effective way of alerting occupants to a fire. Once alerted, occupants can get out of their property, stay out and call 999.
“If a home doesn’t have working smoke alarms fitted, or has them fitted in the wrong place, then the alarm isn’t raised, and the outcome can be devastating. People who don’t have a smoke alarm fitted, or have one that doesn’t work, are twice as likely to die in a house fire.”
