Fire Kills Campaign supports Child Safety Week

Twelve-hundred children under the age of 11 are injured and 35 children die in fires in the home in the UK every year.  Have you taught your child what to do if a fire breaks out in your home?  Do you have a smoke alarm? Will your child hear this alarm? For details of a new vocal alarm email paul@pscfiresafety.com Fire is the biggest killer of children in the home  and tragically many of these deaths could be avoided if children knew what to do when a fire starts and all homes were fitted with a smoke alarm.   This is the clear stark message from the Fire Kills campaign sponsored by Communities and Local Government. The Fire Kills campaign is urging all parents/carers to fit a smoke alarm and to make sure children are taught about fire safety during Child Safety Week, 18-24 June 2007. A smoke alarm provides an early warning of a fire and can give the family time to escape safely. Installing a smoke alarm is the single most important thing parents can do to protect their family as without it they may not know there is a fire before it is too late.  For advice parents can contact their local fire and rescue service who will visit their home to educate the whole family on fire safety, work out routes of escape and fit a free working smoke alarm. On average 1,200 children under the age of 11 are injured and 35 are killed in fires in the home in the UK every year  so installing a smoke alarm and educating children will help to reduce this.  Also research shows that children from lower income families are 37 times more likely to die as a result of fire than children of parents in managerial and professional occupations . Angela Smith, Minister for the Fire and Rescue Service said:  “Everyone in the family - including the children - need to know what to do in the event of fire and every home should have a working smoke alarm.  It’s vitally important that they have all planned and practised escape routes to get out and stay alive.” Child Accident Prevention Trust organises Child Safety Week and encourages the prevention of a range of childhood accidents, including house fires and scalds. Katrina Phillips, chief executive of CAPT, says: “During Child Safety Week, we’re passing on the message that many serious accidents are caused by simple things and house fires are no exception.  Cooking, cigarettes, matches and lighters, and overloaded electrical sockets are all top causes of house fires.  But having a working smoke alarm fitted to every level of your home will help to save your life if a fire breaks out – especially as most house fires start between 10.00 at night and 8.00 in the morning. Just remember to test the batteries regularly to make sure they don’t need replacing.” “This year’s theme for Child Safety Week is Safer children, healthier lives.  Pass it on.   Everyone can take simple steps to make things safer for children and young people – and help them lead healthier lives.  But don’t stop there.  We’re also asking everyone to pass safety tips on to friends, family and colleagues.” Installing a smoke alarm is the single most important thing you can do to protect your family, without it you may not know there is a fire.  Once you have been alerted to a fire your children need to understand how to behave.  The Fire Kills campaign is urging parents, teachers and carers to use the following tips as a guide: For very young child (aged under 5): Make sure children understand that they need to alert an adult if they discover a fire and not to hide. For older children (age 6 and above): Plan and practice an escape route – make sure children know the easiest way to get out of your home and practise it regularly to keep it fresh in their minds. Show children where the keys are kept – It’s important that the keys to doors and windows are always kept in the same place, a place everyone in the home knows. Explain what to do if they can’t get out – show them the best room to take refuge in – for example, a room with a window and a flat roof outside it. Discuss how to call 999 – Make sure children know the number off by heart as well as their address. Always make sure that both are pinned up by the phone and tell them about the dangers of hoax calls. Please remember if there is a fire, everyone should follow these four simple steps: Alert everyone – Make sure that everyone in the house knows about the fire. If there’s a lot of smoke crawl along the floor where the air will be clearer. Get everyone out – don’t delay for valuables, don’t investigate the fire. Call 999 and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service – use a mobile, a neighbour’s phone or a phone box. Stay out! – if someone needs to be rescued wait safely outside for the firefighters who have the equipment and training to do it.   Don’t go back in! For more information on how to protect you and your child from fire, visit www.firekills.gov.uk There is also a kids area online with games to show children how to stay safe from fire at www.kids.direct.gov.uk Fire and rescue services across England offer free Home Fire Risk Checks, they will visit your home and advise on the best escape route to take, check your home for fire hazards and where appropriate install a smoke alarm. To book a visit online or for the telephone number to contact your local fire and rescue service look at www.fire.gov.uk.  The phone number is also in the telephone book (NOT 999).

 

Key statistics

* The United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Services attended 856,500 fire and false

alarm incidents in the 12 months to 30 June 2006 - a 1 per cent fall on the

previous 12 months.

* There were 467 fire deaths in this period - down 5 per cent on the previous

12 months. Dwelling fire deaths fell by 10 per cent to 342. However, all

fire death figures for 2006 should be treated with caution as they are still

provisional and subject to change.

* Primary fires fell by 6 per cent to 163,500. This is the lowest total since

1985. Within this dwelling fires hit a 24 year low (56,800, down 3 per cent),

fires in other buildings - including workplaces and areas where people gather

- are at their lowest since 1963 (down 8 per cent to 33,500) and road vehicle

fires again fell (by 8 per cent to 62,200) to their lowest total since 1990.

* Secondary fires rose by 8 per cent to 252,400 although the figures for

the first 6 months of 2006 only show a rise of less than 1 per cent on the

corresponding first half of 2005.

* Attendances at false alarms dropped by 3 per cent to 429,700. Within this

there was a 17 per cent fall in malicious false alarms and 3 per cent decrease

in false alarms due to apparatus.

The Fire Statistics Monitor is available on the Communities and Local

Government website. Also on the website is the latest annual statistical

bulletin, Fire Statistics United Kingdom, 2005, which contains trends and

analysis for the years 1995-2005.

Kitchen fire 'unattended' warning

Two separate fires caused by unattended grill pans, have led to a warning from the fire service on the dangers of leaving cooking unwatched. The occupants of the properties were lucky to escape unscathed, PSC urge people to install smoke alarms. Paul Coughlan, said the fire service are doing everything possible to educate the public about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended "but the messages just don't seem to reach people". "The occupants in both these properties have had an extremely lucky escape," he said. "We could have been dealing with a tragedy this morning where we were dealing with a multiple fatality situation. "Responsibility" "We can only do so much to educate the public about the dangers of fire - there is also a responsibility on them to listen to our messages and act accordingly." He also warned that it only took minutes for a small fire to develop into a serious fire which could threaten lives. He asked the public to install smoke alarms in their properties. For more free advice sign up on our home page and download a guide to home fire safety. www.pscfiresafety.com

 

Not enough properties protected by sprinklers

Too many buildings are being destroyed unnecessarily by fire because the protection offered by sprinkler systems is being ignored, it was claimed this week.

Norwich Union's property risk manager Allister Smith said stronger building regulations were needed, and in some cases the insurance industry needed to put up more of a united front when insisting on properties being adequately protected.

He told us: "We are seeing increasingly large fire losses, and current building regulations - under which sprinkler systems are not mandatory - are falling short of providing adequate property protection.

"If the Government acted on this anomaly, it would give the UK a better protected environment, save lives, reduce the cost of property damage and prevent the kind of post-fire disruption faced by surrounding communities and businesses."

Allister accepted that sprinkler systems could be expensive, but that any initial outlay could be recouped over the coming years as insurers offered a "substantial discount" whenever such systems were properly installed.

He added that firms ought to consider what price they would be willing to pay, to ensure their business did not suffer the kind of disaster they may never recover from.

'Wrong message'

Allister went on to highlight how some insurers appeared willing to take on property risks where sprinkler systems should be in place, but were not.

"The fact that sprinklers put out fires seems to be our industry's best kept secret, and insurers providing cover for significant property risks without insisting on a suitable fire protection system is sending the wrong message to UK businesses," he said.

Norwich Union's experience of fire related claims has often highlighted the value of sprinkler systems. For example, a furniture manufacturer it provides cover for, installed sprinklers on the insurer's insistence.

When a fire broke out, the blaze was contained and kept under control by two sprinkler heads. The outcome was a business interruption claim for £10,000.

The attending fire officer said that without the sprinkler protection the entire factory's buildings and contents could have been destroyed at a cost of approximately £14 million. In addition, the incident would have had a detrimental impact on the local community and jobs.

According to the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, losses from fires in buildings protected with sprinkler systems are estimated to be one tenth of those in similar unprotected buildings.

In buildings fully protected by sprinkler systems, 99% of fires were controlled by the sprinklers alone - in addition, 60% of fires were controlled by no more than four sprinkler heads.

What about home sprinkler systems?

Please comment on the above

 

Paul Coughlan

PSC

 

what people are saying about the vocal detector

Kidsmart Vocal Smoke Alarm provides the occupant the ability to record a personalized wakeup command and verbal escape instructions. Specifically designed for the sleeping rooms of children, adolescents and seniors, this product is an advancement in life saving technology that is long overdue. Across all age ranges, science shows that humans respond and react more rapidly to a voice that is familiar to them. The amplified, familiar voice message that you record, is replayed when the device detects smoke and your message alternates with a temporal tone siren. Winner of the 2003 Best of Innovations Award and the 2005 Housewares Design Award,

research on smoke detectors not waking children

Does anyone have any experience or observations on these alarms that could be fed back to Me?

Vocal Smoke Detector

We have recently come across this new product for the UK.  It is aimed primarily at alerting sleeping children to a fire, and aims to address the issues surrounding individuals sleep thresholds and the disorientation and panic which ensue being awoken by the sound of an alarm.

The product is a battery operated Photo-electric detector which, in alarm status, alternates between an 85dbs alarm beep, and an audible message, recordable by the familiar voice of a parent or carer. The purpose of the spoken message is three fold. Awaken the child, Calm the child, and instruct the child. The speaker unit is directional, and so can be aimed directly at the sleeping Child.

Research has been done in the US and Australia, relating to auditory arousal thresholds during sleep and the effects of reaction times among children awakened from slow wave sleep. Whilst we are still investigating the actual research, the following statements seem relevant.

·    2 out of 3 children have a propensity to sleep through the sound of a normal smoke alarm.
·    Children who do awake to the sound of an alarm are normally frightened and disorientated.
·    A familiar voice keeps children calm and prevents panic.

It is clear from the information we have seen so far, that this product allows for customised instructions which can and should be linked into a domestic emergency plan.

Feedback from our fire officers who read this would be welcome and shared.

Research supporting this.
Busby K Pivik RT. Auditory arousal thresholds during sleep in hyperkinetic children. Sleep, 1984; 8(4), 332-41
*2 Bruck, D. The effectiveness of different alarms in waking sleeping children. Fire safety journal, 2004.
*3 Splaingard, M. Smith, G., Xiang, H., Hayes, J., McNair, A. The effect on reaction time among children awakened from slow wave sleep. Columbus Children’s Hospital, 2005. 
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia05/os/alarm1.pdf ]

 

 

 

 

B Festival 23rd June 2007

 

The B festival

 

To whom it may concern.

 

Over the last few weeks a few brave souls! Have taken on the role of organizing a summer spectacular, a fantastic day/ evening event were the entire village and surrounding areas can get together and be entertained.

 

Our ideas are to have a village fete in the afternoon and a live music event in a marquee in the evening.

 

It ha been proposed to hold a church service in the marquee on the Sunday with an afternoon tea for the elder residents of the village.

 

We have some funding for the event already from local business and are asking local business to provide extra funding to support the event.

 

We would be grateful of any amount or a donation for our village tombola, any surplus money will go to fund future events and our designated charity for the event which has yet to be decided.

 

Please visit our web site www.bfestival.org for more details

 

 

We would like to thank you in advance and hope you will be able to attend the event.

 

For more information please contact:-

 

Paul Coughlan 01455 552289

Marion Reid 01455 557821

 

 

The date is Saturday 23^rd June 2007.

With church service Sunday 24^th June 2007

Book it in your diary now.

 

 

Paul Coughlan

B Festival Chairman

 

fire risk management should be about practical steps to protect people

PSC believe that fire risk management should be about practical steps to protect people from real harm and suffering - not bureaucratic back covering. If you believe some of the stories you hear, fire safety is all about stopping any activity that might possibly lead to harm. This is not our vision of sensible fire safety - we want to save lives, not stop them. Our approach is to seek a balance between the unachievable aim of absolute safety and the kind of poor management of risk that damages lives and the economy.

We have worked with a very wide range of organisations to identify some principles of sensible risk management that set out what we believe it should - and should not be about. We are intent on driving forward sensible risk management. We have revised our format on fire risk assessment to make clearer what is - and is not expected.

After a recent visit from the Fire brigade one of our customers passed the inspection with a few items picked up which we had already highlighted, our fire risk assessment was suitable and sufficient and helped our customer. For more details please visit our web site www.pscfiresafety.com

The next question to consider is …what have you done about this?

 

You see, you may have already carried out a fire risk assessment of your establishment and recorded the evidence, HOWEVER can you be sure it is good enough? Will it be acceptable to your local Fire and rescue service? To make sure it is, read on …

 

At PSC we have been working with Leicester City Council and private companies since February 2003 getting them ready for this change and have helped over 250 locations to date.

 

It has been eye opening! Some of the risks we have uncovered at some establishments certainly falling dangerously foul of new legislation! However …

 

With our help, advice and experience we have made schools and other facilities a safer location to work and learn in, we can now ensure that help is available to you too!

 

And here’s how …

 

Reply to this email paul@pscfiresafety.com  You’ll then be contacted to arrange a convenient time and date to complete a fire risk assessment on your establishment.

 

It’s as easy as that, to make sure you and your school or company comply with the latest regulations and don’t fall foul of the danger of being closed down, or worse, because you didn’t have the correct information in place!

 

 

Sensible Fire risk management IS about:

• Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected;
• Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks – both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences;
• Enabling innovation and learning, not stifling them;
• Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action; and
• Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility.

Sensible risk management IS NOT about:

• Creating a totally risk free society;
• Generating useless paperwork mountains;
• Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks;
• Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed; and
• Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and suffering.