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No-one likes to think that a fire might start at home, but accidents do happen, and being prepared can make all the difference.
If a fire starts inside your home you need to:
Our firefighters will be on their way as quickly as possible. Our average response time in 2016/17 was 5 minutes 25 seconds.
Don’t try to fight the fire – you could put yourself and others in danger. The sooner you call us, the sooner help will be on the way.
Fires can develop and get out of hand very quickly, our figures show there was a delay of 10 minutes or more from the time of a fire starting to the time the Brigade was called in nearly half of all fire deaths in 2015/16. Don’t take any risks – get out, stay out and call 999.
If you can’t get out, get everyone into one room, ideally with a window and a phone. Close the door, and put bedding or any soft materials around the bottom of the door to block the smoke, then open the window and shout for help: 'HELP, FIRE'.
If you have a phone with you, call 999 – be ready to describe where you are and the quickest way to reach you.
If clothes have caught fire, don’t run. Try and remember ‘stop, drop, roll' – which means:
Find out more about home fire safety visits – we can visit you at home, fit any extra smoke alarms you need for free, and work out an escape plan with you.