A shocking way to put out a home fire
New research published today by Halifax Home Insurance reveals that more than eight and a half million adults in the UK do not have a smoke alarm installed in their home to alert them if a fire broke out.
Furthermore, over 25 million UK households do not own a fire extinguisher and a staggering 31 million do not have a fire blanket. More than five million adults do not have any of these basic fire safety devices in their homes.
The figures come from an internet survey of over a thousand adults by survey company TNS in January this year.
Fire safety ignorance
Even if householders do have the correct equipment to tackle a small fire, many UK adults lack basic fire safety knowledge.
Halifax Home Insurance’s research found that almost four million do not know the correct procedure to tackle a small electrical fire, such as a toaster catching alight. Almost one and a half million would risk serious injury by dousing an electrical fire with water. The correct procedure would be to pull the plug out or switch off the power at the fuse box before combating the flames with a fire blanket, or non-water based fire extinguisher.
Despite extensive education campaigns by fire brigades across the country, almost a quarter of a million British adults still believe that dousing a chip pan fire with water is the most appropriate way to put it out. In reality, throwing water on a chip pan fire could make the situation worse and create a potentially lethal fireball.
Vicky Emmott, senior underwriting manager Halifax Home Insurance, said: "It is worrying that so many householders still do not have the basic fire safety devices in their homes. With the prices of smoke alarms starting at just £5 from supermarkets or DIY stores there is no excuse for people not to protect themselves.”
“Thousands of people are injured by home fires each year so it is vital people take adequate precautions to safeguard their families and possessions. Unfortunately, the fire education message is still failing to get through to millions of Britons.”
People living in the North West are the least likely to have a fire safety device installed at home (20%) compared to the South East and East Anglia (10%).
New research published today by Halifax Home Insurance reveals that more than eight and a half million adults in the UK do not have a smoke alarm installed in their home to alert them if a fire broke out.
Furthermore, over 25 million UK households do not own a fire extinguisher and a staggering 31 million do not have a fire blanket. More than five million adults do not have any of these basic fire safety devices in their homes.
The figures come from an internet survey of over a thousand adults by survey company TNS in January this year.
Fire safety ignorance
Even if householders do have the correct equipment to tackle a small fire, many UK adults lack basic fire safety knowledge.
Halifax Home Insurance’s research found that almost four million do not know the correct procedure to tackle a small electrical fire, such as a toaster catching alight. Almost one and a half million would risk serious injury by dousing an electrical fire with water. The correct procedure would be to pull the plug out or switch off the power at the fuse box before combating the flames with a fire blanket, or non-water based fire extinguisher.
Despite extensive education campaigns by fire brigades across the country, almost a quarter of a million British adults still believe that dousing a chip pan fire with water is the most appropriate way to put it out. In reality, throwing water on a chip pan fire could make the situation worse and create a potentially lethal fireball.
Vicky Emmott, senior underwriting manager Halifax Home Insurance, said: "It is worrying that so many householders still do not have the basic fire safety devices in their homes. With the prices of smoke alarms starting at just £5 from supermarkets or DIY stores there is no excuse for people not to protect themselves.”
“Thousands of people are injured by home fires each year so it is vital people take adequate precautions to safeguard their families and possessions. Unfortunately, the fire education message is still failing to get through to millions of Britons.”
People living in the North West are the least likely to have a fire safety device installed at home (20%) compared to the South East and East Anglia (10%).
posted by tony at 6:52 PM
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