Keep your home, and yourself, safe from fires

A recent TV news report showed dramatic video of an elderly couple being pulled from their burning home by quick-thinking neighbours late at night.

The Brisbane property went up in flames quickly, trapping the woman and her husband, who was nursing a broken leg sustained prior to the fire.

The situation could have been worse.

At least one person dies in a house fire in Australia every week and people over 65 are at the greatest risk. Nearly 50% of house fire fatalities are aged 65 years and over.

Most residential fires begin in the kitchen, often due to unattended cooking on the stove. Other common causes of fire include mechanical or electrical failure of household products and falling asleep while smoking.

A 2019 study by the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services found the following groups were over-represented in fatal fires:

• People with a physical disability.

• Pre-school aged children.

• People suffering from social or financial disadvantage.

• People who live alone.

Where the smoking status of victims was known, 65.4% were smokers and 26.7% of fires were caused by smoking.

Older people could be their own worst fire risk. A Netherlands study showed the elderly have limited knowledge about home fire safety.

While the older participants in the study took precautions such as installing smoke alarms and planning an escape route, they were overconfident in their abilities to respond to a fire and were not sufficiently aware of risky behaviours that can lead to house fires.

• Make sure smoke alarms are installed and working. Test them monthly and change batteries annually.

• If you are unable to maintain your smoke alarms, contact your local fire station. Firefighters can assist elderly people who live by themselves and need smoke alarms installed and batteries replaced.

• Have an escape plan in place. Practice it and make sure your family/carer knows about it. This is particularly vital for people with reduced mobility. Where possible, know two safe ways out of every room in your home.

• When at home, leave keys near deadlocks so that you can quickly escape in an emergency.

• If you have difficulty hearing, install special smoke alarms that have a flashing strobe light and vibrating pad that can be placed under a pillow and activates when the smoke alarm sounds.

• Plug your electronics into surge protectors, which protect them in the event of a power surge.
• If you are leaving the house, unplug electronic items to prevent excess electricity from flowing through them. Devices such as computers and televisions use electricity even when they are not on, which means they could experience a surge or overheat and cause a fire.
• Inspect and test your electric blanket for overheating and scorching before putting it on the bed. Never leave weighty objects on the bed when the blanket is on. Turn it off before you go out and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for care and storage. If you suspect there’s a problem, get it checked by an authorised repairer or buy a new one.
• If you have something that produces an open flame – a candle or a gas cooker, for example – keep a close watch on it.
• Install smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher in rooms where you are using flames or hot plates.
• NEVER smoke in bed.
• Have an approved electrical safety switch installed.
• Don’t overload power points.
• Switch off small appliances when they are not in use.