Fire safety at home: A checklist

The nation is becoming accustomed to working from home as it continues to adapt to Covid-19 and its impact. But as we fall into new routines and find improved ways of working, fire safety shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, it should be taken as seriously as if we were in our normal working conditions.

We’ve put together a simple guide to fire safety in the home to help you become even more vigilant and anticipate any risks.

Protecting property and people

Even if your home ‘office’ only consists of you and your laptop, it’s now your place of work and you’re responsible for fire safety. Following these simple tips should eliminate any obvious fire risk around the home and ensure you’re equipped to make a safe escape in the unfortunate event of a fire.

– It’s recommended that each floor of your home has at least one working smoke alarm. You should test each smoke alarm weekly. Follow viral social campaign #testittuesday for a reminder every week to carry out those quick tests.

– Conduct a fire risk assessment around your home – pay particular attention to your new office or working area. This will allow you to identify and evaluate any risk and implement measures to mitigate that risk. Consider ignition and fuel sources around the home – What will burn easily? While working from home, electrical appliances, heaters and cooking equipment should be thoroughly checked as you’re using them constantly.

– Re-organise rooms so that items like books, paper or rugs aren’t near plug sockets or ignition sources.

– Don’t overload wall sockets.

– Turn equipment off when not in use.

– Assess your kitchen. According to official Home Office statistics, the most common cause of accidental house fires in the UK is cooking appliances. Take care to avoid any build up of fat or grease, which can contribute to a fire starting, and ensure there’s good ventilation.

– It’s advised every home has a small, general purpose fire extinguisher that’s suitable for the likely fire risks. The compact two or three-litre ABF-rated MultiCHEM is ideal for such a setting. This multi-class fire extinguisher is ideal for the home and its associated fire risks, which include fuel sources like rubbish and cloth, flammable liquids like paint and oils and cooking fat you’d find in the kitchen. It’s also wise to have some fire blankets available in the home too.

– Consider means of escape should a fire take hold. Devise an evacuation plan and make sure all family members are aware of it.

While working from home, treat fire safety considerations with the same importance as you would while in the office or your normal work setting. This will ensure your property and family are safe from the risk of fire. Below are some free activity downloads to help teach children more around the importance of fire safety as well as a ‘Thankyou’ message for Fire Fighter Key Workers. Would love to see and hear how you get on with these, stay in touch and post them online tagging @CheckFire. (note activity sheets are to be carried out under the supervision of an adult )

Download Activity Sheets

Need more advice on fire safety in the home? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help