Smoke Alarm, Fire advice and MORE

KittaKatta

Thanks, this sounds great! There are a lot of questions I'd like to ask an expert about the risks of fires in the house, so this is a brilliant opportunity, cheers!!:beer:

larlie1983

I work in a library in the north east and we have a partnership with the local Fire Brigade. We hand out the forms, the customer fills out their details and then pops it into into the box provided. Every couple of weeks a nice Fireman collects all the completed forms from us and then contacts all the people arranging a free fire safety visit. Alternatively you can just visit their website:

http://www.clevelandfire.gov.uk/community-safety/home-fire-safety-visits

I'm sure other areas will have a similar scheme running so it might be worth visiting your local library to ask.

Charlotte

marty-401

This form is for Leicestershire but many other areas are taking part http://www.leicestershire-fire.gov.uk/documents/dclg_hfsc.pdf :T

sarah1972

Here is the London thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1659025&highlight=smoke+alarm

Wildside

Home Fire Risk Assessments
Many people are not aware that the Fire and Rescue Service will come and visit your home, completely free of charge, at a time that suits you. We will advise you on any aspect of fire safety within your home and help you devise an escape plan, if you do not already have one.
Home Fire Risk Assessments can sound daunting to many people especially the elderly. However, this page will explain what they entail and how you can go about having one carried out.
A Home Fire Risk Assessment is where members of your local Fire and Rescue Service will visit your home, at a time convenient to yourself, and carry out an inspection of your home. The visit may be carried out by firefighters who are operational, so don't be surprised if a fire engine arrives at your home, or a dedicated team from the local Fire and Rescue Service. You do however need to be aware that a fire appliance can be called away at a moment's notice as it is still part of operational resources within your area. They will of course call back, or arrange another date if needed.
As mentioned above, the Home Fire Risk Asessment visits are carried out by operational crews, they are completely free and you may be eligible for free smoke alarms to be fitted were required. You will not be sold anything.

We will visit your home, sit down and talk to you about fire safety issues in your home covering areas such as electrical safety, smoking safety and the use of electric blankets. We will then, with your permission look at the various rooms within your home paying particular attention to areas such as overloads plug sockets or wires trapped under carpets. We will also ensure that doors shut correctly and advise you of any remedial work that we feel may be in order for you to become safer within your home. You are welcome to ask any questions that you feel you need answering in respect of your home safety. We will also run through an escape plan if you do not already have one.
In addition to the above, you may qualify for free smoke alarms to be fitted within your home. We will carry this out completely free of charge and can fit them in a matter of minutes, ensuring you are safer from the moment we leave.

Please note: All Fire and Rescue personnel who visit your home will carry photo identification. If you are concerned, you can telephone your local Fire and Rescue Service to check they are genuine. You will not be asked for any money, so be aware of callers offering to carry out the above for a small charge, they will be bogus.

http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk/fire-gateway-home/find-your-local-frs.aspx?rnd=5

clairibel

We have had this service in both our homes and had the free smoke alarms fitted with an informal chat about fire hazards and i feel much better knowing my smoke alarm has been chosen and fitted by the fire service

Thanks for highlighting this service as i know not many people know anything about it and its a really good service.

Byatt

Thanks Wildeside, this is really useful. My daughter has just moved into her own place (is autistic) and this would give me some peace of mind as well as helping her take the correct precautions. She does have smoke alarms but she's in a flat. (and her boyfriend keeps overloading the sockets which scares me!!)

Wildside

Thanks clairibel and Byatt, hope it helps.

Kayteehee

Although this is a very good idea for a service, I registered for this in July last year and it said due to high demand it may be a while until they get around to making an appointment with me.

It's February.

I've heard nothing.

I went out and bought my own smoke alarms and figured out where i'd escape if there was a fire.

Wildside

Kayteehee wrote: »

Although this is a very good idea for a service, I registered for this in July last year and it said due to high demand it may be a while until they get around to making an appointment with me.

It's February.

I've heard nothing.

I went out and bought my own smoke alarms and figured out where i'd escape if there was a fire.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience Kayteehee, think it varies depending on where you live, our fire brigade are very good but again can depend on how busy they are & staff numbers.