Be Fire Safe This Winter

Every winter there is a spike in house fires, some resulting in tragic and even fatal consequences.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and the NSW Rural Fire Service have joined forces to urge people to be safe, not sorry.

In as little as three minutes and a fire could take hold of your home. Last year, FRNSW) attended 953 residential house fires between June 1 and August 31 - that’s around one-third of the annually reported home fires during the three winter months of that year.

FRNSW Commissioner, Paul Baxter said firefighters were committed to reducing the risk of home fires and protecting the irreplaceable.

“The best way to stay out of harm this winter is to take measures to prevent a fire from occurring in the first instance,” Commissioner Baxter said.

“It is vitally important for young people to have a working smoke alarm in their home and to test it regularly.”

There are simple precautions householders can take to ensure they remain safe.

These precautions include:

• Regularly checking and maintaining smoke alarms to ensure they are working;
• Making sure people and objects, including clothes or anything else flammable, are at least one metre away from the heater;
• Cleaning and maintaining fireplaces;
• Not leaving cooking unattended; and
• Keeping outdoor heating or cooking equipment outside.
• Not overloading power boards;
• Cleaning the lint filter from the clothes dryer after each use;
• Checking electric blankets are safe for use and never going to bed with electric blankets left on;
• Not overheating wheat bags in the microwave;
• Always using candles under adult supervision and not leaving them unattended; and
• Ensuring you have a home fire escape plan that you practice regularly with your family.

Around 20 people die in house fires each year; fires that should have been prevent.

Many more sustain life-changing injuries.

Don’t become a statistic - be safe, not sorry.

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