Stay Safe From Fire
The West Midlands Fire Service remains focused on the importance of fire safety in your home keeping you, your family and your home safe from fire.
Important:
In the event of a fire: Get Out! Stay Out! Call 999 and ask for Fire Service!!
Free Home Fire Safety Checks
West Midlands Fire Service offers free home fire safety checks. Click here find out more.
For Home Fire Safety Advice
If you require any fire safety advice or information in general can contact:
Freephone Helpline: 0800 389 5525
e-mail CFS_Team@wmfs.net
For detailed advice on fire safety in your home click here to visit the Fire Kills website.
Fire Safety advice
Smoke alarms save lives: is yours working?
Smoke alarms will give an early warning to a fire in your home, greatly improving your chances of getting out alive.
It is important to test your smoke alarm by pressing the button on a weekly basis to make sure it is working. Never remove the batteries for use in other items!
Most smoke alarms require their batteries to be replaced once a year, although this is not the case with ten year smoke alarms.
If your smoke alarm goes off it is vitally important that you have an agreed escape plan the whole family can follow. Ensure that all members stay together and follow the best route out of the house in order to stay safe.
Fire escape plans: make your plan, get out alive!
It is important that you should know what to do in the event of a fire, should the worst happen in your home.
We recommend a five-point plan of escape:
Raise the alarm, shout fire and get all family members together in one place
Follow your fire escape route plan if possible
Crawl low on the floor to avoid smoke
Dial 999 from a safe location once out of the house
Do NOT go back into the house for any reason
If your escape route is blocked, get everyone into one safe room and close the door. Seal the gaps around the door with bedding, open the window and shout for help. As a last resort, escape through the window by lowering bedding to the floor to create a soft landing, and lowering yourself out to arms length before dropping to the floor.
Cooking safely; are you cooking up danger for you and your family?
With the majority of house fires starting in the kitchen, take care while cooking, particularly when cooking late at night.
Major causes of kitchen fires include:
Food left unattended on the cooker
Clothes left to dry close to a heat source
Faulty electrical appliances
Electrical appliances left on and unattended
Spillages near to heat sources
Avoid fire; dispose of your cigarettes with care!
Smokers should take extra care! If you smoke, make sure you safely extinguish all smoking materials avoiding needless and potentially lethal fires.
The dangers of poorly discarded smoking materials such as cigarettes and pipes, and of the dangers of related items like matches and lighters, cannot be underestimated.
All matches and lighters should also be kept out of reach of children to avoid the temptation to play with fire, which can also have disastrous consequences.
If the worst does happen, it is important that all members of the household know what to do to get out safely.
