Cut fire risks

By Dion Teasdale
WINTER is the high-risk season for fires in the home, with up to 20 per cent of house fires caused by heat from gas or solid fuel heaters.
CFA Region 13 community education facilitator Lynda Challands said complacency is the greatest risk when families begin re-using heaters from last year.
“Many people use appliances such as heaters that haven’t been professionally checked in a number of years,” she said.
“We encourage all Victorians to get items such as heaters regularly serviced to prevent house fires this winter.”
To help combat this, Ms Challands said the CFA has developed a website featuring winter fire safety tips.
The website, www.check yourhotspots.com aims to help educate the public about the risks of home fires in the winter months.
Here are some basic winter fire safety tips to keep you family and home safe this winter:
•Keep candles away from curtains and windows.
•Always place a screen in front of an open fire. Extinguish fires before going to bed or going out. Keep clothing, curtains and toys at least one metre away. Always supervise children in rooms with open fires.
•Never deadlock yourself in your home. Develop and practice your home escape plan, have two ways to escape from each room.
•Check electric blanket wires are not damaged. Visually inspect the blanket for burn spots. Fit blanket firmly to bed. Turn on no more than 30 minutes before bed and turn off before getting into bed.
•Clean the lint filter on your clothes drier after use.
•Check heaters before first use each winter.
•Don’t overload power points. Only use one appliance for each outlet on a power-board. Replace damaged power cords. Never smoke in bed. Always have a working smoke alarm between the living and sleeping areas of your home. Change your smoke alarm battery annually at the end of daylight saving.
•Test and clean smoke alarms regularly.