Upcoming celebrations…

Winter is on its way and with it comes the celebration period, Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas, shhh I agree it’s a little early for that.

Fire safety is the last thing on your mind when you’re celebrating. But think about it – lots of guests, extra decorations, people smoking – all the everyday fire risks get bigger. Don’t let fire safety stop you enjoying yourself – know the risks and plan ahead.

Decorative Lights

Decorative lights don’t get used every day so give them a bit of extra thought.

• Check the maximum amps that can be handled by the fuse in the plug. Most decorative lights should be fitted with a 3amp fuse, so don’t try and wire extra sets into the same plug!
• If bulbs blow, replace them. If bulbs continue to blow, replace the lights.
• Turn decorative lights off at night and when you go out, add this to your closing procedure.
• Don’t let bulbs touch anything that can burn easily like paper, fabrics and paper decorations.

Candles

Treat candles as you would any other flame:

• Don’t leave them unattended.
• Put them out completely at night.
• Don’t let them fall over, use a candlestick holder.
• Always place candles on heat resistant surfaces, even tea lights can melt plastic surfaces like TV tops.
• Keep them away from anything that can catch fire, like curtains, decorations and artificial Christmas trees.
• Use common sense and keep decorations and greeting cards away from heaters, lights, the fireplace and candles.

 Fireworks

Given half a chance, paper decorations will burn:

• Don’t fool with fireworks, they’re explosives not toys
• Only buy fireworks marked with British Safety Standards BS7114 and always read the instructions.

Having a party

Do yourself and your visitors a favour – don’t leave fire safety to the morning after!

• Make all guests aware of fire procedures and fire exits.
• Look out for elderly people, children and anyone with problems getting about.
• Make sure exits are clear.
• If people are smoking, put out extra ashtrays and make sure all cigarettes are put out properly – cigarettes can burn at over 700^oC, they’re hotter than you think!

Have a Spooky Holloween and Banging bonfire Night!