Winter is the busiest home fire season, and a key fire prevention message from Fire and Rescue NSW this year is ‘Check your BLEEPING smoke alarm’.
Zone Commander at Huntingwood, Superintendent Michael Johnstone, covers all fire stations from Seven Hills to Penrith, and he wants to ensure local residents keep warm safely.
“We found in the last 12 months at fires we have attended in the area that roughly 40 per cent didn’t have a working smoke alarm even though it is law to have one in a dwelling. That’s a little bit alarming – pardon the pun,” he said.
A Fire and Rescue NSW survey conducted earlier this year found 37 per cent of respondents weren’t aware smoke alarms needed to be replaced every 10 years, and 45 per cent were unaware the alarms require cleaning every six months.
“Our biggest push is to ensure everybody has a working smoke alarm, and if they don’t have a working smoke alarm, they can ring their local Fire and Rescue NSW station and they can come out and install it for them free of charge.”
Parramatta’s neighbouring LGA Cumberland has recorded at least 40 house fires since last winter, and Johnstone told Parra News the kitchen poses the biggest risk for fires, followed by the lounge room.
“We always promote that everyone tests their electric blankets before winter because when they are folded up in the summer seasons the wires can become bent to a point where it could be a fire risk because electricity is not passing through the way it should be,” Johnstone said.
“A lot of people tend to dry their clothes in front of the heater, and we always say to keep everything a metre from a heater because if they are too close, they can catch fire.
“When it comes to fireplace safety, people need to have a proper spark or ember grill on the front, so it stops embers from coming out onto the carpet and starting a fire. People also need to check their flue to ensure they are not having excess build-up of soot.”
For those who need assistance locating fire safety risks in their homes, they can contact their local fire station.
“We can arrange for a fire truck to come out and not only check smoke alarms but also have a look through the house and offer occupants an escape plan in case of fire,” Johnstone said.
“We also go over a bit of kitchen fire safety in the home because that tends to be the number one place where fires do occur in the households.
“We also talk a bit about lithium-ion safety because there has been an increase in recent years of lithium-ion battery fires. We can do all that through a free safety visit to a home.”
Fire and Rescue NSW receives up to 600 bookings for home safety visits each month.
Book a home safety visit online at https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/fire-safety/home-fire-safety/safety-visits.
Ally Hall joined the team 2024, and focuses on entertainment and community stories. She is a graduate of the University of South Australia.