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As Australian households look for ways to stay warm and cosy this winter, Wormald is reminding families to be extra vigilant about keeping their homes fire safe and discussing fire prevention with their children.

Winter is the most dangerous time of year for house fires with more than 60 per cent of home fires occurring in the cooler months.

Unfortunately when it comes to house fire fatalities, children are in a high-risk group.

Garry Kwok from Wormald believes fire safety education should start in the home, with parents setting a good example for their children. “If children see that their parents are taking fire safety seriously, they are far more likely to take it seriously as well.”

With the majority of house fires preventable, it is vital that families conduct a fire safety audit of the home. This includes ensuring that the smoke alarms are installed in the correct location, batteries been replaced with new ones (if it’s an existing alarm) and checking that fire safety equipment such as fire extinguishers or fire blankets are in good working order.

Smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and fire blankets are all essential tools for defending a home against a fire.

Jodee Wyatt, founder of The Fire Foundation, a charity organisation that is dedicated to helping victims of fire to recover and rebuild their lives, can’t stress enough how important it is to be well prepared.

“In addition to ensuring the home is fitted with working smoke alarms, I encourage families to develop a fire escape plan and practice it regularly with the entire family. This can also be a fun way for children to get involved in the fire safety discussion.”

A fire escape plan should start with a floor plan of the home that maps out the quickest escape route from each room and indicates where fire safety equipment is kept.

The fire escape plan should then be practiced regularly by the entire family including children so they don’t forget what to do in case of a fire emergency.

Wormald has the following child-friendly fire safety advice for parents to help them reduce the risk of fire in the home:

  • Ensure children know what the smoke alarm sounds like and they what to do if they hear it.
  • Keep matches and lighters well out of reach of children.
  • Ensure children are kept at a safe distance away from heaters, candles, and oil burners.
  • Supervise children in the kitchen and keep them away from the stovetop and oven.
  • Ensure heaters are always kept on a flat stable surface on the floor and away from curtains or other flammable items such as clothes and toys.
  • Be aware that some children may have a natural curiosity about fire and be tempted to be involved in ‘fire play’. Closely monitor any ‘suspicious’ behaviour.

Wormald’s Winter Fire Protection Checklist

  • Check smoke alarms once a month to ensure they are working correctly. Change the batteries every 12 months and make sure there is at least one smoke alarm installed between the  bedrooms and remainder of the home, and on any other storey within the home
  • Consider purchasing a fire safety kit consisting of a fire extinguisher, fire blanket and make sure the family know where it is located.
  • Have a fire escape plan and discuss it openly with everyone living in the house.
  • Ensure all heating equipment is clean and in proper working order. Inspect electrical cords and replace if cracked or damaged.
  • If you have a fireplace, ensure you have a mesh guard to protect against flying sparks and embers from an open fire. Ensure the fire has been completely smothered before leaving the room or house.
  • Ensure heaters are placed a minimum of one metre away from anything that could potentially burn. Be sure to switch off at the appliance as well as on the wall, turning of the power outlet.
  • When cooking, don’t leave cooking appliances unattended. If you need to leave the room for more than a few minutes, switch off the stove or oven.
  • Switch off electrical blankets before going to bed.
  • Extinguish any candles before going to bed or leaving the room.

For complete fire safety protection this winter, fire safety kits are available from Wormald. Each kit includes a 1kg ABE fire extinguisher, photoelectric smoke alarm and fire blanket.

Wormaldfirekit

For more fire safety tips and information visit Wormald or call 133 166.

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  • We have a smoke alarm. Need to get a fire extinguisher and fire blanket. Have to let the landlord know

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  • It is so important to have a fire plan. All my kids know what to do and hopefully will remember if needed.

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  • We have a combustion wood heater in the country and are real fire safety conscious. We have a guard enclosed right around the fireplace, a fire extinguisher and fire blanket. Outside all taps have hoses. Also a fire safety plan. Each daylight savings the batteries are replace in the fire alarms.

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  • thank you for sharing these very important tips/advice

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  • Thanks for the ideas. Great article.

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  • Very important that kids learn this young!

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  • i teach them their name, phone number, fire , water and road safety etc

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  • We have a woodfire in our house, ironically installed the day after they were born, they have never been intrigued by it but you just never know. It only takes a split second, thanks for the great ideas even though winter has gone it will come back again.

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  • My kids have been taught fire safety from a very young age

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  • Make sure all of your family know how to operate the fire extinguisher. You don’t have time to read instructions in an emergency. Every second counts. Make sure there is nothing blocking doors at all. I personally don’t like bedroom doors shut when anybody is in the room. If there is a fire – it can be started by an electrical fault above the ceiling – the smoke takes longer to trigger the smoke alarm into action. We had an experience where a electrical wire in the ceiling short circuited. We were fortunate that theBradford Insulation (rockwool) we had was not burnable and it only had a black scorch mark on it. It didn’t catch fire. We only discovered we had a problem when we discovered that some power points weren’t working. Had it been the foil insulation it would have caught fire and burnt very quickly. My Uncle was a builder and had heard about disaster with the foil appearance one (well it was a silvery colour when new – he showed us some – it also went black after a few years and didn’t work).

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  • Fan Heaters automatically switch themselves off as soon as they are at the tiniest tilt.
    I put mine in a safe place and tested it to ensure it did as advertised. I only moved it the height of the thickness of a pencil and it switched itself off. It isn’t an expensive one. It was about $20.00 in Coles or Woolworths. It is ideal for warming one room. After a few minutes the room is warm enough to switch it off for awhile unless the weather is very cold and your room takes longer to warm up. You can warm your room and air off your washing at the same time. Just ensure your little ones cannot pull the airer down on top of themselves or don’t put it where the children can get it until they are in bed asleep, and move it before they get up again.

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  • So important, children burn so easy and quick however vigilant

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  • We’ve talked about and practiced what to do in a fire at home.

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  • Thank you for this very important article and information.

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  • I always make sure smoke alarm batteries aren’t running low and I should get a fire blanket too.

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  • Be vigilant with supervision, burns happen so quickly! :-(

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  • A great idea to have a checklist & make sure the kids know how important it is to keep safe. My brother burned down our garage when we were little…. then went for the double & set the house on fire :(

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  • This is so important – I get my kids to tell me what they’ll do in a fire quite regularly. My six and four year olds can clearly articulate what they do.

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  • It is important to make little ones what hot means, explain that fires are hot and that they can hurt them if they touch them or go too close.
    That also applies to household appliances in the kitchen. BBQs etc. Many of them don’t actually appear to he hot from a child’s perspective

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  • it is quite amazing how many people do not own a fire blanket.

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