If your house catches alight, the flames won’t necessarily be the biggest danger. More than half of all deaths in house fires are due to smoke inhalation – some estimate that the actual figure is closer to 80%.
When people inhale the gases created by combustion – which can include cyanide and carbon monoxide – they can develop serious respiratory problems, while the intense heat of smoke can even burn people’s windpipe and lungs. Furthermore, when people inhale large quantities of smoke, they can suffer acute oxygen deprivation, which leads to unconsciousness and brain death.
You might think that you will wake up automatically when your room fills with acrid smoke, but a huge amount of catastrophes have clearly discovered that this is not the case.
Therefore, it is incredibly important for people to have working smoke alarms in their home, but figures from 2012 found that 7% of homes in England do not contain these live-saving devices, putting the equivalent of 1.5 million households in unnecessary danger.
And a recent investigation by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service revealed that in the last three years, over 80,000 houses in the county that were visited by firefighters did not contain working smoke alarms, with 71,000 of these households never having had a smoke alarm before and the remaining 9,000 owning smoke alarms that did not work properly.
A smoke alarm that contains a flat battery or that was not installed correctly can be as good as useless, but simply pressing the test button and waiting for a beep is all it takes to check that the smoke detection mechanism and the energy supply is working properly.
Since April 2011, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has fitted at least 223,000 smoke alarms across the country, as well as a number of specialist devices developed for people with hearing problems.
Ian Bitcon, the fire service’s Fire Safety Area Manager, pointed out that people without working smoke alarms are at least four times as likely to lose their lives in a fire as those that do.
Testing a smoke alarm can truly be a “life-saving decision”, he remarked.
Keep your loved ones fire-safe
More than half of all people who died in house fires last year were over the age of 65, so if you know someone who may struggle to test their own smoke alarm due to infirmity or disability, then why not regularly check it on their behalf whenever you make a visit?
With the help of 247 Home Rescue, you can minimise the likelihood of a house fire affecting you.
- Home emergency cover will keep your electricity and gas supply working properly – if there is ever an emergency involving these utilities, then just give us a call on our 24/7 claims line and we will send someone to your property to get them working safely and properly again.
- Appliance cover will ensure that you don’t feel compelled to use a faulty appliance – if your white goods or brown goods stop working, we will get them repaired!
- Boiler cover will protect you in the event of any boiler breakdown, and you can also receive gas safety checks and annual services, ensuring that your boiler works in tip-top condition!
Want to save money? No problem.
If you’re having trouble with any aspect of your boiler, home appliances or if you’re suffering from a home emergency such as an electrical breakdown, plumbing problem or security issue then be sure to get in touch with us.
You can face a hefty bill if something goes wrong at home so eliminate the possibility and speak to us today.
Call us on 0345 3192 247 and one of our friendly technical team will go through some simple diagnostics to see if your problem can be resolved over the phone. If not, we’ll send an engineer to be with you as soon as possible to ensure you’re back up and running in no time.
