Seasonal Fire Safety
Book a community fire safety visit and get a free 10-year smoke alarm fitted by the experts.
Safety Routines
Click here for simple routines that will help your family, your home and yourself safe from fire.
Spring-cleaning.
Spring is on its way. For a safer home, make sure you include you smoke alarm and your chimney in spring-cleaning routines.
Read on to find out more about these and other fire safety steps you should take at least once a year.
Smoke Alarms
Like everything else, smoke alarms gather dust. It gets inside the casing and can stop them working properly in an emergency.
As well as testing your alarm once a week, once a year you should remove the outer cover and gently vacuum the inside. Use the soft brush hose attachment of your vacuum cleaner. If the hose won't reach the ceiling safely, take the smoke alarm down first - just don't forget to put it back up again!
Read more on fitting and maintaining smoke alarms '
Real Fires
Nothing beats a real, living fire when it comes to making a room feel warm and welcoming. Like any other naked flame, open fires and stoves must be treated with respect.
Meanwhile, in 2005, there were 1,456 chimney fires in Scotland. When was the last time your chimney was swept?
Brush up on safe use of fires and stoves in the home '
Fire Extinguishers
Fire extinguishers don't last forever. Over time, they lose pressure and the materials inside can lose their effectiveness.
Check the service and expiry dates on your extinguishers today and ensure they're serviced or replaced. Contact your supplier if any are approaching the end of their lives or for further advice.
Read more about fire extinguishers '
Central Heating
Central heating systems are the easy way to heat our homes - set the thermostat and the timer and forget about it. To be safe, gas and oil-fired boilers need to be checked out regularly by a qualified engineer. Having your boiler serviced could help you use less fuel too.
Read about fire safety and gas and oil-fired boilers '
Fire Action Plans
Fire action plans let everyone know what to do in an emergency. But things change - furniture gets moved, people move in and out of properties and little-used windows cease up.
Make sure your plan still reflects the way things are in your home. The best way of doing this is to try out your plan with everyone who lives with you.
Escape plans are more effective the more often everyone practises them - if you haven't tried out yours yet this year, do it today!
