The same old fire story

Not matter how many times we hear about the fatal incidents resulting from a fire we are still affected by the devastation it causes and the overwhelming grief felt by the person’s family.

Every time you see a news report (and there have been a few lately!) about a child, parent, grandparent or fire fighter losing their life in a fire, we often just shake our heads and lay blame on one or several individuals for not applying the ‘common sense’ principal and getting some basic decisions right. In hindsight we are all health and safety experts.

Echoing statements of ‘I told you so’ or ‘What do you expect’ add very little compassion to the families of the victims and certainly adds no opportunity to stop these terrible events from ever happening again.  

Have you got the right fire precautions?

Perhaps our actions on hearing these incidents shouldn’t be to point the finger at someone but to take a long hard look at our own arrangements for preventing a similar outcome in our own homes, workplace or our children’s school. Simple checks and reminders may ensure that you or your family aren’t just another statistic relating to fire tragedies. Some things to think about:

Workplace:

• What action would you take if you discovered a fire?
• What does the fire alarm sound like?
• Do you know where your nearest fire exit and the assembly point are?
• Does your company inspect its electrical appliances?

Home:

• Has your home got at least two smoke detectors?
• Do you test these smoke detectors weekly to ensure the batteries are working?
• Have you stopped smoking inside the house?
• How would you get out of your house if a fire broke out downstairs?

School:

• When was the last time your child’s school carried out a fire drill?
• Have all school staff been suitably trained in fire safety?
• Has the school kitchen got the correct fire fighting equipment readily available?

All of the above questions are part of the fire risk assessment process which is a statutory requirement within a workplace (including schools). Although there is no legal obligation to perform this assessment at home, it doesn’t stop us adopting the same fire prevention principals we adhere to in the workplace to protect our families.

As with all legislation, the Fire Safety (Order) 2006 is in place to protect the vulnerable and ensure that our children, our families and work colleagues are not another statistic we hear about in the news.