The London Fire Brigade is backing a Government campaign urging people to “pull your finger out” and check your smoke alarm, the campaign is a response to a new survey of households across the UK that has revealed most people don’t check their smoke alarm regularly.
According to the survey carried out by the Government/TNS, although around 8 out of 10 of Londoners surveyed owned a smoke alarm, most didn’t know if it worked or not.
In London, 85% of those polled don’t check their smoke alarm. The reasons for not checking it range from not remembering/not thinking about it (28% of people) to people being too busy (18%) or even those that can’t be bothered (13%).
Steve Turek, London Fire Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Community Safety said: “We’re human, and it’s easy to forget fire safety, but testing a smoke alarm takes no more than a couple of minutes each week. Around fifty Londoners are killed and over a thousand injured in fires each year, so being too busy or forgetting could lead to damage to your home at best or tragedy at worst.
“The most important thing that any Londoner can do to protect themselves from fire is fit smoke alarms and check them regularly. Alarms prove time and again that they save lives, but a smoke alarm with the batteries removed or run down is not going to protect you.”
The ‘Pull your finger out’ campaign features a wave of TV advertising highlighting the devastating and potentially fatal consequences of not testing your alarm often enough. The advert shows the aftermath of a fire in the home with a burnt out kitchen providing the backdrop to the scene.
The Brigade offers free home safety visits to identify potential fire risks and advise what to do to reduce or prevent them and can also fit free smoke alarms if you need them. To find out more, call 08000 28 44 28.
