Kids need summer safety advice

PARENTS are being urged to protect their children over the summer holidays.

 

In the run-up to Child Safety Week, which starts on Monday, PSC is asking parents to make sure their children know how to keep safe this summer.

During the summer months, youngsters tend to spend more time away from adult company and so are more at risk of fire and other dangers, both in and out of the home.

To combat this, parents are asked to make sure that their children know what to do if a fire occurs and how to prevent potential accidents in the home such as scalds and burns.

They should also be warned of the dangers of arson and why not to make hoax 999 calls.

Community safety co-ordinator for Cambridgeshire Wendy Coleman said: “Child Safety Week, organised by the Child Accident Prevention Trust, is an ideal opportunity for parents to encourage their children to be safe in the home and when out playing.

“We are urging parents to talk to their children about the hidden dangers that lurk in the home.”

For more information on how to protect children from fire, visit www.pscfiresafety.com scroll down to the bottom of the home page and down load a free guide to fire safety or visit www.firekills.gov.uk or http://kids. direct.gov.uk

 

PSC can also supply various extinguishers to replace those old extinguishers you may have onboard you boat or in your caravan, if you require fire and safety advice please email paul@pscfiresafety.com

Youngsters get special fire drill

 

FIRE safety advice will be drummed into Warwickshire youngsters during a campaign to try to save children's lives. Firefighters will be visiting county schools and urging parents to fit smoke alarms during Child Safety Week, which starts on Monday. Fire is the biggest killer of children in the home and experts say many deaths could be avoided if children knew what to do when a fire started. Research shows that 1200 children under the age of 11 are injured and 35 children die in fires in the home in the UK each year. PSC are urging parents to talk about fire safety with their children and show them the right action to take in emergencies. This includes alerting an adult if they discover a fire, planning and practicing an escape route, showing children where house and window keys are kept and discussing how to call 999. For more advice and help sign up to our newsletter at www.pscfiresafety.com when you leave your details on our home page you can download a pdf on home fire safety. Warwickshire firefighters aim to get the fire safety message across by showing how house fires can be started through cooking, matches and overloaded electrical sockets. PSC are suppliers of Matchguard the child proof match box during child safety week we will cover the cost of postage Matchguard £4.00 see our web site for details. Simon Ellershaw, area risk manager at Warwickshire County Council fire and rescue service, said: "Unfortunately too many of us in the service have attended incidents involving young people.

 

 

Wake Up to silent killers in the home

 

Wake Up to silent killers in
the home

 

This is the exact area we intend to help with our Vocal smoke alarm for more details please contact paul@pscfiresafety.com or visit our web site www.pscfiresafety.com

 

If anyone has the contact details for Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat MP please forward this email.

Smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning are both silent killers in the home but few British households actually appreciate the very real dangers they present.

A new campaign launched today aims to change attitudes and raise public awareness of the threat, whilst highlighting some of the measures householders can take to reduce the risk and protect their families.

WAKE UP urges homeowners, landlords and tenants to take all possible precautions to make sure they have early warning of a fire or carbon monoxide in their home and will wake up in sufficient time to save their lives.

People are dying from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes because:
 They have not fitted alarms
 Fitted alarms do not work
 They do not hear the alarms in time

WAKE UP, sponsored by members of the fire prevention industry and backed by prominent politicians and media personalities, aims to be hard hitting and direct.

Amongst those to see the danger and lend their support to the campaign are Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat MP and party spokesperson on children, young people and families, and Lorraine Kelly, GMTV's people champion and guru for getting things changed.

They are joined by sleep researcher Dr. Louise Reyner, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Sciences at Loughborough University, and Terry O'Neill, Head of Trenton Fire Ltd, a man with 30 years experience of fighting fires with the London Fire Brigade and an expert in fire safety.

Also behind the campaign is FireAngel, the Coventry-based safety technology company that has seen at first hand the aftermath of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, and which manufacturers a wide range of alarms and detectors that aim to provide early warning and minimise their effects.

WAKE UP says you cannot assume just because you have a working smoke or CO detector in your house that its alarm will wake you because: 

• It may not be located close enough to the fire or leak
• Its sound may be weakened passing through closed doors
• It may be located out of earshot in another part of the home

WAKE UP stresses that the most vulnerable are children, the elderly, the disabled, the hard of hearing, anyone impaired by the effects of alcohol and those that naturally sleep deeply.

Launching WAKE UP, Mrs Brooke outlined some of the forgotten facts about fire, smoke and carbon monoxide in the home, stressing that many fatalities occur while people are asleep and in houses fitted with fire alarms and smoke detectors. 

According to latest government figures, around 460 people die in house fires every year in the UK, she said. But 190 of these people had smoke alarms fitted and the figures show that only 90 of the deaths were the result of the smoke alarm not working.

You have to wonder just how many of the 100 with fully working smoke alarms died because they just did not wake up in time and/or simply didn't hear the smoke alarm.

At the same time, she continued, public awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning remains low, despite several recent front page media reports.

In the past two years, over 100 people in the UK have died after inhaling carbon monoxide fumes and countless others have been hospitalised.

WAKE UP says if there is a carbon monoxide leak in your home you have a better chance of survival if you:

• Understand the real danger of carbon monoxide poisoning
• Tell other people about the dangers of CO
• Make sure all heating appliances are regularly serviced by
  qualified people
• Look out for the early signs of CO poisoning, headaches, tiredness
  and nausea
• Buy and fit a carbon monoxide alarm in your home
• Investigate the wide range of CO detectors now available and
  carefully choose the one that provides the greatest protection

But when WAKE UP asked people about carbon monoxide just under one third did not know what it was or where it came from. Worryingly, 41% were unaware of the dangers it posed to their health.

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, said: "I hope everyone will get behind WAKE UP and join in. We can do more and we must do more. We welcome support from other leading industry and media figures and for new ideas and ways to get our message across to the public.

"You may think you are safe because there is a smoke alarm fitted in your house, but can you be sure it will wake you up when the time comes.

"And will it be in time to save your life? The sooner you WAKE UP, the better your chances of survival.

"The situation regarding carbon monoxide is even more worrying. Our survey showed that only 26% of households have a CO detector, yet they cost as little as £20.

"If we don't act now, people will continue to die in their homes from these silent killers. We must not let this happen. So find out about WAKE UP: it just might save your life," she added.

 

Signage is governed by the smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007

As well as being World Tobacco day, it is exactly a month today until the smoking ban comes into force (1July) in England. The Health Act 2006 will outlaw smoking in almost all workplaces from that date.

Employers are now considering all the various compliance issues raised by the Health Act and it seems that one of the issues representing a significant concern is signage. Many employers are not sure how to incorporate the no-smoking signs into their building structure especially when listed buildings are concerned.

Signage is governed by the smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007 which put specific obligations on businesses to exhibit no-smoking signs in all smoke-free premises. The signs are to be displayed at each entrance to smoke-free premises including back doors, staff-only entrances and fire exits. The duty requirement is imposed on the occupier or the manager of the premises.

The signs must fulfil a number of requirements:

·                        they must be A5 in size, displaying the no-smoking logo of a burning cigarette in a red circle with a diagonal line through it;

·                         the sign must include the wording “No smoking. It is against the law to smoke in these premises.” The words “in these premises” may be replaced to make the sign more personal to the premises, for example, “in this hotel”; “in this office”.

Employers are permitted to make their own signs to tailor them to their own needs, but they must observe the following guidelines:

·                          the smoke-free premises sign must be at least A5 in area (210mm x 148mm); 

·                         the international no-smoking symbol must be at least 70mm in diameter; 

·                         signs must be printed in colour (red and black on a white background).

Further information on the duties under the smoking ban please email paul@pscfiresafety.com