Heating your home
Winter is well and truly here and, after battling through the biting cold outside, we all want warm and cosy rooms to relax in when we get home. Open fires in winter are appealing but, before creating an inviting blaze, check the last time you got your chimney cleaned. Chimneys should be cleaned at least once a year as a dirty chimney can easily catch fire.

Fire Prevention Officer Thomas Daly says spark guards are a vital piece of fire safety equipment if you have an open fire. Always have a spark guard in front your fireplace to catch the stray sparks that can fly out on to your floor or carpet. Always put the spark guard up before you go to bed, even if the fire has burned down to glowing embers.

Many people use portable or bar heaters. Daly suggests “that if you have to dry clothes in front of a fire or heater keep them at least one metre away.”

The following tips will help to ensure that these do not become a fire hazard:
• Keep the heater away from curtains and furnishings
• Do not use them to dry clothes
• Make sure to turn off portable heaters before you go to bed
• Never leave a portable heater unattended

Electrical items
Electrical items should never be left plugged in when going to bed. Make sure your toaster, TV and radio are plugged out before retiring for the night. To be really protected against fire, it is not enough to leave these electrical items on standby or have the socket switch turned off. Crucially, with the season that’s approaching, this includes Christmas tree lights too.

Many people are not aware that mobile phone chargers are a huge fire risk. They can overheat easily and should never be left charging all night. Overloaded sockets and faulty appliances in the kitchen can be dangerous too. Daly says: “often older people are on low incomes and are less likely to replace faulty items or frayed leads on things like kettles or cookers but it is important to do so.”

Overloaded sockets can be dangerous too. If you need to use adaptors, especially in older houses, get an adaptor with surge protection. These are available in any hardware store.

Daly says that “electric blankets can also be a fire hazard for older people so make sure they are replaced every three or four years.”

Fire alarms
Fire alarms are a must. A smoke detector fitted in your home could save your life. It is crucial to know that smoke, rather than wake you up, will actually cause you to slip into a deeper sleep. A fire alarm is the only thing that can alert you to the danger and allow you time to get to safety.

Many people have fire alarms in their homes that are not working properly or are out of batteries. Check that your fire alarm works every week and, in a two-storey house, make sure there is a fire alarm on each floor. Irish fire statistics show that, in 2001, 58 people lost their lives in fires. In 68% of those cases, no smoke detector was present, so check your fire alarm today.

Make a checklist
It can be easy to forget what you need to do to keep your home safe from fire. Take a few minutes to create a checklist specifically for your home. Check it every day so that you keep in mind important things such as unplugging electrics and closing doors in rooms that are rarely used or before you go to bed.

You should also have a fire escape plan so that you know exactly what to do if a fire breaks out in your home and your best escape route.

Daly says older people are a lot more security conscious and keep their front and back doors locked. He suggests keeping a key on a piece of string beside the doors so there is no time lost trying to escape. He also explains, that in his experience, older people have a lot of belongings that they don’t want to lose in a fire so they tend to spend more time gathering memorabilia He says “ If there is a fire don’t delay, don’t gather anything, just leave.”