Stay fire safe with new online home safety checker
21/06/2022
Residents throughout the county can now access home fire safety information, with a personalised action plan, online in their own time.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a new home safety check tool, available via their website, that will enable people to carry out their own home fire risk assessment for free. The online tool takes the answers given and creates an action plan that can be saved and printed, giving basic, simple tips to help keep their home fire safe.
The tool can be used on any internet-enabled device and has a user-friendly interface. Those using the tool are prompted for information about each part of their property, with the answers then generating easy to follow advice that can be kept and referred to at any time.
Station Commander James Ball, one of the Service’s community risk managers, said: “This new resource really is a game changer for us and for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It will allow anyone to get free access to fire safety advice in their own time. They can also use the tool on behalf of a vulnerable member of their family or friend, particularly if they struggle with using technology. Families can also sit and do it together to help educate their younger family members.”
The online home safety check tool does not replace the in person visits the Service carries out to vulnerable residents around the county.
Station Commander Ball explains: “We currently prioritise visiting those most vulnerable people in our communities, for example those with mobility issues, disabilities and the elderly. Not only will this tool help us give vital fire safety advice to those we can’t give a visit to, but the information provided will highlight any vulnerable people that we might have struggled to reach or not been aware of from our data. It will also give them the initial advice that will help until we can arrange a visit for them.
“The online home safety check is such an easy way for people to risk assess their homes at the touch of a button, which will help keep them and their families safe. I would really encourage people to log onto our website and give it a go. Hopefully everyone will find it straightforward and encourage their friends and family to use it too.”
The online home safety check tool is available in the home safety section of the Service’s website here: https://www.cambsfire.gov.uk/home-safety/home-fire-safety/.
The tool has been developed following a successful pilot study in collaboration with Fire Kills and Safelincs under the National Fire Chief Council’s Prevention programme.