Free smoke alarms and safety check

kingfisherblue

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, so apologies if it has.

My local fire brigade fit free smoke alarms for anybody - not just the elderly, or those on benefits. They have a non-replacable battery which lasts for up to ten years. This is so that batteries are not taken out for toys etc and not replaced.

I had some fitted about five years ago, but today one of the alarms started to beep, indicating low battery life. I rang the fire station (not 999!) and within half an hour, the fire brigade came out and replaced both alarms. Obviously, it isn't always this quick, but I was told that if they couldn't get out today it would be tomorrow at the latest.

This time, they also had a questionnaire on the computer. Questions included whether there is anybody over the age of 65 or under 5 in the household (there isn't). I do have a disabled child, though, so that has been listed with a few more details. If we ever have a fire, these details will be used to help the firemen.

I think it is an excellent service and I'm sure that others would benefit from having a smoke alarm fitted. Even if you have one yourself, an elderly relative or neighbour might need one.

For Merseyside, contact 0800 731 5958. For everywhere else, ring your local fire station to see if they offer a similar service.

Hope this helps someone.

System

i think this is a good idea for the elderly /infirm but anyone else is taking the p!!! they are reasonably cheap to buy and idiot proof to install .

74jax

I work as a Community Safety Advisor for the fire service. I would say anyone taking up the service is not seen whatsoever as 'taking the !!!!'.

You may find them easy to install, others may not. You may know the best place to have them fixed, others may not.

With a home fire safety check, not only do you get, where needed fire alarms, but invaluable safety advise for you and your family.

SailorSam

I don't think you are taking the pi**, the alarms the fire brigade fit are not the cheap ones you get in the £ shop they're top quality that will last years. But when they come it's not just the alarm you get, they do a safety check on your house and give you advice to both prevent a fire and what you should do if you had one.
I imagine the fire brigade think this is money well spent, it costs them a lot less to come out giving these alarms and advice than it would if they waited until your house was on fire in the middle of the night.

74jax

SailorSam wrote: »

I don't think you are taking the pi**, the alarms the fire brigade fit are not the cheap ones you get in the £ shop they're top quality that will last years. But when they come it's not just the alarm you get, they do a safety check on your house and give you advice to both prevent a fire and what you should do if you had one.
I imagine the fire brigade think this is money well spent, it costs them a lot less to come out giving these alarms and advice than it would if they waited until your house was on fire in the middle of the night.

What I was trying to say, but you did it better :T

MARTINS_DOLL

Many thanks kingfisherblue for bringing this very important safety information to peoples attention again...:beer:
I posted a thread about it here on the freebies board back in April 2009. I'll not request a merge though as I'm so pleased it has been brought to folks attention again.

The link is still valid in my OP, but I'll just give a few details (hope you don't mind!)

Quote:
"What is a home fire safety visit? We will visit you at home to offer advice on how to make your home safe and where appropriate fit a smoke alarm for free.
Who is eligible? We target our visits in areas and situations where we know there is a higher risk of fire, including the homes of older or disabled people, but anyone living in London can request a home fire safety visit.
Why request a visit? If you are concerned that your home may be at risk of fire or know someone who you think needs our help then please arrange a visit.
How long will it take to complete the form? No more than a couple of minutes
What do we do with your personal information? See our privacy statement./2"

I had 2 alarms fitted myself, and would recommend everyone to apply for this totally free service, and you will get a visit very quickly after initial contact is made.

The alarms work, and are guaranteed for 10 years, but if there are any problems during that time they will send someone round ASAP to rectify the fault.

If the battery fails withing the 10 year period, yet again they will send someone round very quickly to replace them totally free of charge!

HTH
xxx

pimento

I'm in Essex and we had this done a couple of months ago. Then my mum had it done.

I'd recommend that anyone who doesn't have smoke alarms, has them fitted and those who do, test then!

kingfisherblue

CHRISSYG wrote: »

i think this is a good idea for the elderly /infirm but anyone else is taking the p!!! they are reasonably cheap to buy and idiot proof to install .

I am not elderly or infirm, but I am not good at any sort of DIY - I wouldn't feel confident that I had installed an alarm properly.

To 74jax and SailorSam, thanks for your comments. I did have a safety check as well, and I found it useful, although I knew a fair amount of the things I was told. For me, the most important part of the safety check was that the Fire Service now know that I have a disabled child in the house, with limited mobility and learning difficulties. If there is ever a fire at my address, the Fire Service will know this and will be aware of potential problems which may result.

Martin's Doll, thank you for the additional information. I didn't have to complete a form, but a fireman asked me a few questions and put the answers into the computer, so I assume it is an electronic version of the form. Again, I can only praise this as some people are nervous about filling in forms, have difficulty reading or writing, etc. You have posted some excellent information for everyone.

MARTINS_DOLL

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I am not elderly or infirm, but I am not good at any sort of DIY - I wouldn't feel confident that I had installed an alarm properly.

To 74jax and SailorSam, thanks for your comments. I did have a safety check as well, and I found it useful, although I knew a fair amount of the things I was told. For me, the most important part of the safety check was that the Fire Service now know that I have a disabled child in the house, with limited mobility and learning difficulties. If there is ever a fire at my address, the Fire Service will know this and will be aware of potential problems which may result.

Martin's Doll, thank you for the additional information. I didn't have to complete a form, but a fireman asked me a few questions and put the answers into the computer, so I assume it is an electronic version of the form. Again, I can only praise this as some people are nervous about filling in forms, have difficulty reading or writing, etc. You have posted some excellent information for everyone.

You are most welcome hunni buns...:beer:
My youngest Son (Adam) also has health problems (Dredful heart problems diagnosed at the age of 3 days) ... (no Aorta), and I've been his carer for over 26 years... It's darn hard as we & others know!
Good luck love & stay safe!
xxx

Becles

We had a cold call from firemen asking if we wanted free smoke alarms. I let them in and had them fitted and he said theirs were much better than the ancient ones we already had.

He noted that we have an under 5 child in the house and noted that all the bedroom windows are double glazed with two small opening windows at the top. He said to keep a toffee hammer by the bedroom window, and if there was a fire, to hit the glass at the corners of the big window to break it. He said too many people panic and start throwing things at the middle of the window, but due to the design of double glazed windows, things usually just bounce off the glass. Hope I never need to use his advice, but it could be invaluable should the worst happen.

pigpen

We had a house fire (just the kitchen thankfuly!) about 18 month ago (8 days before christmas of all the convenient times!) the fire chappies fitted smoke alarms in ALL the bedrooms with high sleeper/bunk beds... the occupants of these beds usually succumb to smoke fumes very quickly as they are closer to the ceiling where the smoke accumulates. We had about 6 put downstairs and 7 upstairs free of charge.. the rang a year later to check all was ok.. they even came out and spoke to the little ones about how to stop a fire and what to do if one happened because they were very frightened by it all.

I would highly recommend their service to anyone and everyone and have done.. it isn't takng the pee.. it is protecting your family and loved ones from the possibility of being dead.. It saved our lives a few weeks ago when we had another kitchen incident!