Do you have a fire plan.

Just to add, fireproof box for all your important documents. We have a safe that’s rated for 24hrs or something silly like that, it’s that long ago since we bought it. But the point is important documents that will take months to replace are kept in there.

also cloud storage for all your insurance documents etc so you don’t have that panic about who you are with and hunting through emailed

Helpful for those who don’t know of course, ours was done in 2021! It’s only really a stamp in time - no guarantee they won’t go wrong the next day @DeftWasp

I made the mistake of watching the Station Nightclub Fire video (absolutely devastating fire in a nightclub that killed a lot of people) and it made me very fire conscious. It's one of my biggest fears.

I also have smoke detectors in the bedrooms. I did a fire warden course a couple months back and it raised a good point about teenagers and tech tending to be on the bed.

we do have a fire plan and we go over it regularly, we also have an intruder plan which isn’t as detailed but we know what room we are going in (easiest room to barricade)

It’s heartbreaking. We need to have a plan and chat with our little one. At school I remember the fire brigade telling us if you had to exit a window to lower yourself (dangle) as far as you could before you drop and roll to reduce the height of the jump / fall. I’ve occasionally thought if I needed to get my little one out quickly I’d put them in the duvet and lower that out of the window as far as I could before I dropped it. I pray I never have to experience it though. My thoughts have been with the family and friends of the brimscombe tragedy since I read about it

We went on a caravan holiday last summer. Alarm went off in the middle of the night (I think it was a CO2 one rather than fire, but still). OH didn’t hear a thing so didn’t wake up until I shook him awake and we went to investigate. DD didn’t leave her room. She did wake up, but decided that if it was something serious I’d go and get her . Basically, if I’m not there, they’re both dying.

It’s to do with overloading the socket. Plus the extensions themselves can overheat, I believe.

https://www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safety-at-home/causes-of-fires/electrical-safety/

How to avoid electrical fires

• Make sure an electrical appliance has a British or European safety mark when you buy it.
• Keep electrical leads and appliances away from water.
• Remember – one plug per socket. If you need more plugs than there are sockets, use a multi-socket extension lead with integral fuse, never a block adaptor. To avoid overloading, please use the plug capacity calculator below to see what is safe.
• NEVER ‘daisy-chain’ extension leads or adapters – daisy-chaining involves plugging one extension into another in order to reach further or plug more appliances in, and creates a huge fire risk.
• Unplug appliances at night or when you’re not using them to reduce the risk of fire – unless they are designed to be left on all the time (for example, a fridge or freezer).
• Keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order.

Get your electrical installation tested every 5 years, its what we in the trade advise and is the specification in the wiring regs - its not mandatory for private houses, but highly recommended.

You can get 10 year life sealed smoke alarms now, we generally use them where wiring would mean ripping up floors - they have a battery that is built in and good for 10 years.

We suffered a house fire over Christmas. Electrical fault. Not something we could have prevented.

It was day time and DC (teens) were home alone. They were brilliant, did everything they could to save themselves and fire engines arrived in minutes.

It was so fast. The smoke was thick and upstairs was apparently not visible when the firefighters arrived. I dread to think what would have happened if it had been night time. Would we have woken up? We have working fire alarms which definitely saved my DC but will be adding more - I didn’t realise some alarms speak! We will definitely install some as my DH is a deep sleeper.

I would just add to the excellent advice here: if you see smoke coming from another room or cupboard, do not open the door. Leave by other means or else you’ll risk back draft and making the fire stronger. I hadn’t told my DC this but they knew luckily.

Please remember that children are very unlikely to wake up if smoke alarm goes off.
They are liable to just sleep right on ggroigh it.

An awful tradegy.

I have two dcs aged 6 and 10. They've been told to try and get out of the front door but if they can't they have to jump from their bedroom windows but I think unless me and DP make them they'll just hide.

We had new windows and external doors installed a couple of years ago. We spent time teaching the dcs how to open them - i'm going to check tomorrow that they can still do it.

The company we bought the windows and doors from were quite insistent that we had thumb locks for the external doors in case of a fire/someone has an accident alone - we don't need to find or struggle with keys. They also spent a lot of time explaining how strong the windows were and that we shouldn't need to lock them. They said there's a risk we'll forget to unlock and can't get out.

We always close internal doors even though we have cats and have done for 15 years (really confused about this! )

If we had a fire in the house and we couldn’t exit via the stairs our planned escape route is through the window in one of the spare rooms and onto the garage roof and from there drop,or jump to the ground.
We always close all doors overnight and have linked smoke alarms upstairs and downstairs and a heat detector in the kitchen.When DC were younger we regularly discussed this with them and talked about how important it was not to hide if they were trapped in their room and to use pillows or a duvet to block any gap under the door.We also have fire extinguishers in the house.

We moved house and I just I don’t think we have smoke alarms! 😱

last house we had wired smoke alarms and a co monitors. I need to sort this tomorrow!

THANK YOU! 🙏🏼

Is it, I'm an electrician, please do explain how daisy chaining extensions is dangerous, I must have missed that bit.

I'm always pretty vigilant about fire safety - turning plugs off, closing doors, no cheap chargers etc. This tragic story today has made me extra paranoid and so I did a extra check around the house before going to bed. Found out DH has been daisy chaining extension leads in his office to his desk with laptop chargers and all sorts plugged in over night for months!!!!! I'm so angry as I thought it was common knowledge not to do this. So just a reminder to everyone to check for this too!

https://www.safelincs.co.uk/saffold-fold-out-fixed-fire-escape-ladder/

I have just seen this Saffold fixed ladder. It folds into itself on the outside wall. To use it you pull out a safety pin and open it out. When closed it looks narrow like a drain pipe does.

If you are buying fire extinguishers, don't waste money on little domestic ones, full size commercial ones are really cheap and have a lot more extinguishing in them.

I have 2Kg CO2 and 9 Litre water at front and back doors and in the airing cupboard.

A 2Kg CO2 will cost about £30 and a 9 litre water around £35 - the water type generally have a gauge on to check them and the CO2 are checked by weighing - replace every 5 years.

I worked in community safety for a Fire and Rescue Service for nearly 30 years, it was my job to educate the community in home fire safety.

Ot is of course important to have a fire plan that everyone is aware of, to involve children by discussing this, and to practice it.

More important is fire prevention - so ensure you have a bedtime routine. Eg. candles are extinguished, putting water in ashtrays before emptying, turning off appliances except those with timers/fridges and freezers, closing all internal doors.

All internal doors have to be fire resistant for at least 30 mins. In most areas the Fire Service should reach you in less than 6 mins.

You should have smoke detectors in any room where a fire could start and a heat detector in the kitchen. Preferably these should be linked if possible.

You should be able to evacuate the home and call the fire brigade from outside, closing each door you go through to prevent fire spread. If there is smoke, stay low, and ‘bump’ down the stairs to prevent falls.

If you are unable to evacuate, get everyone into one room, block the gap under the door with a pillow or towel, open the window for ventilation and shout FIRE!

Do not try to escape by through the window unless the room is smokelogged and you can feel heat through the door, (Many people sustain injuries falling from height). Fire Crews will assist you out by ladder if necessary. Tell children never to hide in their rooms, but to stay by the window.

Follow instructions from the Control Officer who will stay on the phone with you.

Have a look at the website for your local Fire and Rescue Service. Many have online home fire safety checkers which will alert you to any fire risks. They will also provide free home fire safety visits to vulnerable households.

I’m sure most people know this but just incase anyone hasn’t seen them before - if you have children who can sleep through alarms you can also get fire alarms that shout the word fire at the same time as the alarm x

I don’t know why people are obsessing over ropes and ladders. I’m a fire engineer, you don’t require them for means of escape in an average 2 storey house.

Early warning is what saves lives. But you should have egress windows to all habitable rooms on the first floor, smoke detectors in the circulation spaces and areas where a fire could start. First floor windows are considered survivable to drop from, if up to 4.5m from the ground. Keep doors shut. Having fire extinguishers is not a bad idea, but your focus should be on early warning and escape. If you have an integral garage, the door should be a fire door with smoke seals and a self closer.

if your house has a converted loft or is over 2 floors, you should have a fire strategy. Usually fire doors at all levels. If it’s a town house with 4 levels, you should have sprinklers or a separate fire escape.

Our house is old and completely non compliant by current standards. We have inner and inner-inner rooms. We have smoke detectors in every room. We did have a fire a couple of years ago. Thankfully, the fire service were here in 5 minutes despite our rural location.

Why do people still charge phones etc at night?

That's what I had been thinking with the ropes, having two. We already have an escape ladder which I keep under my bed but I think i would feel better having the ropes there and ready to get the kids out immediately and if I had the time I could get the ladder set up for myself and if not then lower myself out the window and jump.
This news has got me wondering about having rope ready in their bedroom as well in case I can get through to them but not back out, but obviously rope itself is dangerous so would need to find a way of storing it safely that's also easily accessible.

One thing to consider is having two ropes I think so that you’re not dependent on anyone being at the bottom to unclip the first child to use it for the second child IYSWIM?

IMO the escape ladders are like £50 and I’d rather have one and have the option to use it than have no option.