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Fire Safety

Thurrock Council is dedicated to making Thurrock a safer place to live. Please consider the points below on fire safety in the home.

How to make your house a safe home

• Fit a smoke alarm and check it regularly
• Make a fire action plan so that everyone in your house knows how to escape in the event of fire
• Take care when cooking with hot oil and think about using thermostatically controlled deep fat fryers
• Never leave lit candles unattended
• Ensure cigarettes are stubbed out and disposed of carefully
• Never smoke in bed
• Keep matches and lighters away from children
• Keep clothing away from heating appliances
• Take care in the kitchen! Accidents whilst cooking account for 59% of fires in the home
• Take special care when you are tired or when you've been drinking. Half of all deaths in domestic fires happen between 10pm and 8am.

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What if there's a fire?

If there's a fire, you have no time to spare. You need to know exactly what to do next.

• Alert everyone
• Make sure everyone in the house knows about the fire
• If there's a lot of smoke, crawl along the floor where the air will be clearer.

Get everyone out

• Don't delay for valuables
• Don't investigate the fire
• Before you open doors check them with the back of your hand. If they're warm don't open them - the fire is on the other side.

Call 999

• Use a mobile phone, a neighbour's phone or a phone box. Give the address.

Don't go back in

• Not for anything, even pets.

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When you can't get out by the escape route

1. If you're on the ground or first floor, go out of a window
2. Throw bedding, cushions, etc, onto the ground to break your fall
3. Lower yourself by your arms from the window ledge before dropping
4. Lie down and lower children as far as possible before letting them drop. Get an adult below to break their fall if you can
5. If you can't open the window, use a heavy object to break it at the bottom corner. Make the jagged edges safe with a towel or blanket
6. If you can't get out, get everyone into one room
7. Choose a room with a window if you can
8. Put cushions, bedding, etc, round the bottom of the door to block smoke
9. Open the window and call for help. Let the firefighters know you're there
10. Think now about which room might be best for this - you need a window that can be opened, and if possible a phone for calling 999.

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