book a home fire safety visit

Last updated

10 April 2024

Home fire safety visits

Enhance fire safety in your home with a home fire safety check or visit.

What is a home fire safety visit?

We offer everyone in Scotland a free home fire safety visits.

We'll take you through a questionnaire and then we'll help you sort out a fire escape plan. We can provide information about smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms. If you need advice on the new standard alarm legislation, please visit the   Scottish Government website .

Book a home fire safety visit

0800 0731 999

FIRE to 80800 on your mobile phone

Book online by completing our  booking form

Online home fire safety checker

Complete our online home fire safety checker and we'll provide you with a document with tailored fire safety advice for you and your household. 

Complete our online home fire safety checker

Referring someone for a visit

If you know someone over the age of 50, who smokes and either lives alone, has mobility issues or uses medical oxygen, we need your help to identify them.

Ask them to get in touch or if you are a family member or a carer, refer them to us. We will undertake a home fire safety visit where possible. Make the Call, it could save a life.

Complete our form

Members of other emergency services, health and social care partnerships and other third sector organisations can make referrals through our online portal.

Complete our partner referral form

How we use your data

We have a full HFSV Privacy Notice which explains how your personal information will be collected and used, and what rights you have when it comes to your information.

If you have any further queries regarding Data Protection, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] .

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Essex County Fire and Rescue Service launches campaign to cut false alarms

Book a Home Safety Visit

Knowing how to reduce the risk of fire in your home is an important part of living safe and well. We offer free Home Safety Visits to all Essex residents. If you do not have working smoke alarms, or have working smoke alarms but would like…

Fire Service urge homeowners: Replace smoke alarms every 10 years

Knowing how to reduce the risk of fire in your home is an important part of living safe and well. We offer free Home Safety Visits to all Essex residents. If you do not have working smoke alarms, or have working smoke alarms but would like more information about how to live safely and securely at home, book one of our free visits today.

Our Services

By booking a Home Safety Visit you’re making sure your home is checked over by a fire safety specialist who will also talk to you about your individual needs and safety concerns. The easiest way to book a visit, either for you or someone you know, is to use our online booking form or call our Home Safety Team. 

The service we offer includes:

• Smoke alarms
• Sensory smoke alarms for the hearing impaired
• Advice on home fire safety
• Health & Wellbeing check & referral if required
• Electrical hazards, kitchen safety & safety in the home
• Advice around cost of living
• Crime prevention advice
• Advice around carbon monoxide & gas safety
• Fire retardant bedding
• Assessment for a Portable Misting Unit for most ‘at risk’ & vulnerable residents
• Training for carers

Request a Home Safety Visit for yourself

Request a Home Safety Visit for somebody else

Our Home Safety Visits and advice - all the ways you can get in touch

If you have any questions about fire safety, need to refer someone for a Home Safety Visit, tell us that someone is at risk of fire, or just need some advice and guidance, please do call our Home Safety Team.

The phone line is open Monday to Friday, between 9.30am and 4pm (or leave a message out of hours) or you can email.

To contact us for advice, to book a visit or a telephone call.

• Phone: 0300 303 0088 (9.30am - 4pm, or leave a message out of hours)
• Email: [email protected]
• Online form:  Request a Home Safety Visit for yourself
• Online form:  Request a Home Safety Visit for somebody else
• Home safety videos:  ECFRS YouTube channel 

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How do I book a Home Fire Safety Visit?

Home Fire Safety Visits are a service for people who are at increased risk from fire. During a Home Fire Safety Visit, fire safety and general wellbeing will be considered, and advice provided. Click here to find out more about the visit.

Further reading

• https://bucksfire.gov.uk/service/home-fire-safety-visits/

For emergencies

General enquiries, 01296 744400, quick links, safety advice.

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A HOW-TO GUIDE

Home safety visits are a proven way to reduce fire injuries and deaths. This How-To Guide details all the steps of planning and implementing a home safety visit program for your community. It can be followed step-by-step or you can go to particular topics using the navigation. The information, advice and education you provide on a home safety visit, as well as the alarms that you install, will save lives and make your community members more secure. Please send us your comments and suggestions using the comment form at the end.

Watch our short video on how your fire department can use home safety visits to reach and help high-risk residents in your community.

The Washington State Association of Fire Marshals (WSAFM) gratefully acknowledges the contributions of progressive fire and life safety advocates from throughout the state who have been partnering with WSAFM on home safety visits since 2008. This guide was developed in partnership with Vision 20/20.

Guide Directory

• INTRODUCTION
• Where to Begin
• IDENTIFYING HIGH-RISK AREAS FOR HOME VISITS
• Communication
• Partnerships
• Stock Tools & Supplies for Alarm Installation
• Understanding Smoke Alarm Features
• Smoke Alarms for People with Hearing Loss
• Smoke Alarm Installation
• If You Install CO Alarms
• Your Home Safety Visit
• Covering Basic Fire Safety Information
• Talking to Residents
• DEPARTMENT PROGRAM EVALUATION
• CONTRIBUTORS

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Book your free home fire safety visit

What a home safety visit involves:.

• Identifying and making you aware of the potential fire risks in your home.
• Making sure you know what to do in order to reduce or prevent these risks.
• Helping you put together an escape plan in case a fire breaks out in the future.
• Ensuring you have a working smoke alarm and if you don’t, they will fit a FREE ten-year smoke alarm.

Arrange your visit

To arrange your home safety visit, or if you know anyone who would benefit from a visit, please contact your local fire and rescue service:

• Call: 03003 030 088
• Website: www.essex-fire.gov.uk/Home_Fire_Safety
• Call: 08000 284 428
• Website: www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/book-a-home-fire-safety-visit/

Guidance and advice

• Safeguarding adults
• Dehydration guidance for older people
• How to beat a bogus caller
• Guide to social care

Our services

We provide high quality social care services in Essex, London Borough of Havering and West Sussex aimed at wellbeing, prevention and increasing independence.

• Opportunities for adults with learning disabilities & autism
• Older people Day Centres
• Overview of service
• Short-term home care
• Mobility & equipment for your home

Get in touch

We’re here to help and answer any question you might have about living safely and independently within your own home and local community.

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Book a Home Fire Safety Visit

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service provide fire safety advice to everyone. A Home Fire Safety Visit (HFSV) can be carried out for the more vulnerable such as the elderly, people living alone and those with reduced mobility.

A Home Fire Safety Visit is a FREE home safety visit that is tailored to an individual’s needs.

The visit includes a home safety check to help reduce the risk of fire in the home, including the checking and fitting of smoke alarms where required. This includes alarms suitable for those with a hearing impairment and giving advice on a fire escape plan.

A Home Fire Safety Visit maximises the opportunity to help individuals stay safe and independent and includes advice on the following:

• Home Fire Detection
• Fire safety in the home
• Fire and heaters
• Clutter and hoarding
• Smoking-related fires
• Medicines and medical devices
• Electrical safety

How can I arrange a Visit?

Complete your FREE online Home Fire Safety Check now by following the link .

For further information about a FREE Home Fire Safety Visit call us on 0800 032 1155.

How Safe Are You?

Complete your FREE online Home Fire Safety Check now by following the  link .

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Knowing how to reduce the risk of fire in your home is an important part of living safe and well. You can find lots of useful information about the common causes of fire in the home and what you can do to prevent them in the links above.

We offer free home visits to any Essex resident. If you do not have working smoke alarms, or have working smoke alarms but would like more information about how to live safely and securely at home, book one of our free visits today.

Book a home fire safety visit

>> you can book a home fire safety visit for yourself or someone you know, or get more information about the process, by clicking this link <<.

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access_time Request a Safety Visit

On this page

What is a safety visit, who might benefit from a safety visit, request a safety visit.

“Thanks to early warning from a working smoke alarm this young family escaped safely. The toddlers room was located next to the origin of the fire and was quickly engulfed by flames. Without the smoke alarm it could have been a very different story.” - Firefighter Kate Faith

During your Safety Visit, we will attend your home and check that you have working smoke alarms , that they are in good working condition, and are installed in suitable areas. If you do not have one, firefighters will install a long-life battery-powered smoke alarm as well as replace existing smoke alarm batteries all at no cost. With your permission, firefighters will also ask you to show us around your home and property. This will allow us to give you personalised fire safety advice.

Everyone can benefit from a Safety Visit, however there are people within our communities that are statistically at higher risk of incidents occurring, including:

• Over 65’s.
• Those who live alone.
• People with limited mobility, hearing impairments or vision impairments.
• Residents who are supported by carers, family and friends.
• And anyone with English as a second language.

This service is not available to landlords in untenanted premises, for landlords responsibilities please refer to Division 7A of Part 9 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 [external link] for more information.

Safety Visits will be conducted in line with ongoing health requirements to ensure the safety of firefighters and the community. Please discuss any special health requirements with your local station prior to booking a safety visit. Our firefighters can ensure COVID-19 safety measures such as masks and physical distancing are used during safety visits.

You can request a Safety Visit by entering your residential address below and selecting the correct address from the drop-down. You will then be able to answer a few questions that will help us, help you. Can't fill out the form or need assistance? Find and call your local fire station here.

Do you have at least one working smoke alarm on each floor of your home?

Check your smoke alarm(s).

The risk of a fatality in a home fire is halved if there is a working smoke alarm. Make sure your smoke alarms are working by checking them every month.

• Did you know that you will not smell smoke while asleep? Only working smoke alarms save lives. Learn about smoke alarms here.

Install smoke alarm(s) now!

The risk of a fatality in a home fire is halved if there is a working smoke alarm.

Are you a renter, landlord or owner?

Owner occupier

Responsibilities

From 23 March 2020, NSW landlords and agents need to ensure that smoke alarms installed in rented properties are in working order.

Where a smoke alarm is not in working order, landlords and agents must ensure the alarm is repaired (this includes replacing a battery) within 2 business days.

Landlords and agents must check smoke alarms every year to ensure they are working.

Click here for further information about the law.

Are you a resident in public housing?

Public housing

Test your smoke alarm batteries every month by pressing and holding the test button for at least five seconds until you hear the beeps.

You can still receive a Safety Visit by clicking next below.

• NSW landlords and agents need to ensure that smoke alarms installed in rented properties are in working order.

You can still receive a Safety Visit by clicking next.

Does anyone in the household have a disability?

This includes anything that may reduce mobility or awareness if there is a fire.

Escape plans and smoke alarms

It is important to develop an escape plan that is practical and addresses any limitations people might have in terms of their movement and ability to escape quickly.

It only takes four minutes for a fire to take hold in your home. If your smoke alarm sounds, use your Home Fire Escape Plan to get out, stay out and call Triple Zero (000)

There are specialised smoke alarms available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• Remember to consider the special needs of children, the elderly or the disabled when developing your escape plan. Click here to learn more about escape plans.
• There are specialised smoke alarms available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Click here to learn more.

Do you live with any children?

Escape plans.

• If there is a fire in your home, do not wait, EVERY SECOND COUNTS, GET OUT and STAY OUT and then call Triple Zero (000). Never go back inside a burning building. Click here to learn more about escape plans.
• Practise your escape plan regularly with the whole household including pets. Your letter box is a great place to wait for firefighters arrival.
• Turn pot handles inwards. Pot handles hanging over the edge of the stove can be easily knocked or grabbed by children.
• Our Brigade Kids web site is jammed pack full of fire safety material, games, activities for kids. Visit the site at www.brigadekids.com

Is anyone over 65 years living in the household?

Seniors fire safety.

Nearly 50% of house fire fatalities are aged 65 years and over.

Don't fight the fire - get out and stay out and dial Triple Zero (000) immediately. Never assume that somebody else has done so.

• Don't fight the fire - get out and stay out and dial Triple Zero (000) immediately.
• Wheat bags can help pain, but they also have the potential to cause burns and fire if not used properly.
• Wheat bags can easily ignite or burn if overheated and need to completely cool on a non-combustible surface before storing. They are only designed to be applied directly to the body and should never be used in bed or while sleeping. View more fire safety tips here.

Does anyone smoke indoors?

Never smoke in bed.

It's extremely dangerous. Extinguish cigarettes properly before disposal.

• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.
• Never smoke in bed. It's extremely dangerous. Extinguish cigarettes properly before disposal.

Do you use candles?

Never leave candles unattended.

• Keep candles well away from curtains with open windows and put them out when you leave the room.
• An adult should be present at all times when a candle is being used.
• The leading cause of home fires in NSW is leaving cooking unattended.
• Never leave cooking unattended. Stay in the kitchen while cooking and turn off the stove before you leave.
• Avoid cooking under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Keep your oven, rangehood and grill clean and in good working order. A build-up of grease and fat can ignite in a fire.

Thank you for answering the questions.

You can request a safety visit by pressing the next button below.

Please contact your local Rural Fire Service Fire Control Centre [external link] for any assistance.

If you live near the bush, click here to learn how to plan and prepare for bushfires [external link] .

It is very important that you follow the fire safety advice provided.

Your address falls in a NSW Rural Fire Service area.

Please contact your local Rural Fire Service Fire Control Centre [external link] for any further assistance.

Click here to plan and prepare for bushfires [external link] .

Please fill out the form below to register your interest.

Due to operational priorities, we cannot guarantee we will be able to visit you for a Safety Visit but we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Fire and Rescue NSW Safety Visits are only available to homes in New South Wales, Australia. Please contact your local fire authority for further information and fire safety advice.

Register for a safety visit form

Enter your details in the form below to register your interest for having a Safety Visit.

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7 Ways To Prepare For A Home Fire

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Home Fire Preparedness

Need Help Now?

If you need help after a home fire,  please contact your local Red Cross »

7 Ways to Prepare for a Home Fire

• Install the  right number of smoke alarms . Test them once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year.         
• Teach children  what smoke alarms sound like  and what to do when they hear one. 
• Ensure that all household members know  two ways to escape  from every room of your home and know the family meeting spot outside of your home.
• Establish a family emergency communications plan and ensure that all household members know who to contact if they cannot find one another.
• Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year. Press the smoke alarm test button or yell “Fire“ to alert everyone that they must get out.
• Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1.
• Teach household members to STOP, DROP and ROLL if their clothes catch on fire. 

Develop More Fire-Safe Habits

Make & practice a home fire escape plan.

You know your entire family should practice your escape plan twice a year. But what is your escape plan? These guides will help you decide:

• If you live in a single family home »
• If you live in a multi-family home »
• If you live in a high-rise apartment complex »

Then, use our template to draw your home's unique escape routes:

• This printable worksheet will help you plan and practice home fire drills »

Remember These DOs and DON'Ts

• DO keep items that can catch on fire at least three feet away from anything that gets hot, such as space heaters.
• DO take precautions: Smoke outside; choose fire-safe cigarettes; use deep, sturdy ashtrays and douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before disposal.
• DON'T ever smoke in bed, when drowsy or medicated, or if anyone in the home is using oxygen.
• DO talk to children regularly about the dangers of fire, matches and lighters and keep them out of reach.
• DO turn portable heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• DO use flashlights when the power is out, not candles.
• DON'T leave a burning candle unattended, even for a minute.

Safeguard Your Home

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside every sleeping area. 
• Install a carbon monoxide alarm in a central location outside each separate sleeping area.  Download the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Fact Sheet .
• Make sure your house number is easily readable from the street, even at night.
• Make sure your  home heating sources  are clean and in working order. Many home fires are started by poorly maintained furnaces or stoves, cracked or rusted furnace parts, or chimneys with creosote buildup.  Download the Home Heating Fires Fact Sheet .
• Use kerosene heaters only if permitted by law. Refuel kerosene heaters only outdoors and after they have cooled.
• Fix or replace frayed extension cords, exposed wires, or loose plugs.
• Make sure wiring is not under rugs, attached by nails, or in high traffic areas.
• Make sure electrical outlets have cover plates and no exposed wiring.
• Avoid overloading outlets or extension cords.
• Purchase only appliances and electrical devices (including space heaters) that bear the label of an independent testing laboratory.
• Store combustible materials in open areas away from heat sources. Place rags used to apply flammable household chemicals in metal containers with tight-fitting lids.

Guard Against Kitchen Fires

• Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. Stay in the home while simmering, baking, roasting or boiling food.
• Keep pets off cooking surfaces and countertops.
• Keep the stove area clean and clear of things that can catch fire, such as pot holders, towels, curtains, bags, and other appliances.
• If you are cooking and a fire starts in a pan, slide a lid over the burning pan and turn off the burner. Leave the lid in place until the pan is completely cool. Moving the pan can cause serious injury or spread the fire. Never pour water on grease fires.  Download the Cooking Fires Fact Sheet .

Why Is Home Fire Preparedness so Important?

Explore related safety topics.

The Red Cross now offers videos and resources to help meet the fire safety needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.

Explore ASL Resources »

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Fire safety in your home

Use this guide to help you find advice and information on fire safety in your home.

Book a home fire safety visit

The London Fire Brigade offers a free home visit to give advice on how to make your home safe and, where appropriate, fit a smoke alarm for free.

To find out more about the fire safety visits and book them, visit the  London Fire Brigade website .