Most home fires start accidentally, and the effects can be devastating. It's important to know how to reduce the chances of a fire starting in your home to help keep yourself, your family, and your property safe from fire.
Our home fire safety pages, which can be accessed via the buttons below, provide information and advice on how to keep you and your family safe. Don't forget: if there is a fire inside your home, get out, stay out, and call 999—don't try to tackle the fire yourself. For more information on this, visit our Making a 999 call page.
Tips for making your home fire safe
Home Safety Check
This service offers free advice on preventing fires and what to do during a fire. You can book a face-to-face home fire safety check below or use the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) online home fire safety check tool.
Online Home Fire Safety Check
This easy-to-follow home fire safety check has been developed through a partnership between the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Fire Kills and Safelincs. It will take you through your home one room at a time and the simple questions will help you spot fire risks as you go around your home.
The tool will offer tips and advice on the steps you can take to reduce those risks. At the end, you will receive a personalised fire safety action plan to help keep you and your household safe from fire.
Face-to-Face Home Fire Safety Check
It is carried out by the Service and our partners and takes place at your home, lasting approximately 30 minutes. As part of this service, smoke alarms may be fitted and subsequent maintenance and replacement of these becomes the responsibility of the homeowner. Smoke alarms are not provided as a matter of course.
We only target our visits at people and places where we know there is a higher risk of fire. The information supplied in the application process will help us to determine your risk, so please complete the form below as completely and accurately as possible.
Please note that the check is inappropriate for people who live in accommodations where they are looked after, such as care homes. If this is the case, a fire safety talk will be more suitable, and this can be arranged by completing the Request a Talk/Visit form by following the button below.
For specific in home fire safety information and advice to help keep you and your family safe, see the buttons below:
Bedtime Checks
You can reduce the risk of a fire in your home by remembering to do a simple bedtime safety check.
Make sure you:
- Close inside doors at night to stop a fire from spreading.
- Turn off and unplug electrical appliances unless they are designed to be left on – like your freezer.
- Check your cooker is turned off.
- Don't leave the washing machine on.
- Turn heaters off and put up fireguards.
- Put candles and cigarettes out properly.
- Make sure exits are kept clear.
- Keep door and window keys where everyone can find them.
- Top tip: Close inside doors at night
Water Safety in the Home
It takes seconds for someone to drown in as little as 2cm of water so it is essential you stay safe when in and around water.
- Always supervise children in the bath; do not leave them unattended.
- Empty baths, paddling pools and buckets once they have been used.
- Turn paddling pools and buckets upside down as they can hold rainwater.
- Secure garden ponds or swimming pools with gates.
- Consider filling in ponds if you have young children.
Smoking
Fires caused by smoking materials are the biggest killers in accidental house fires. Someone dies from a fire caused by cigarettes or smoking materials every five days. If you smoke in your home, we would urge you to be cautious and follow the safety advice below:
- Careless disposal of cigarettes is the single biggest killer in house fires, causing over a third of all fire deaths (36%).
- Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully. Put them out. Right out!
- Use a proper ashtray – never a wastepaper basket. Ensure your ashtray can't tip over and is made of a material that won't burn.
- Don't leave a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe lying around. They can easily fall over and start a fire.
- Be Alert! Never smoke in bed!
Take extra care if you smoke when you're tired, taking prescription drugs, or if you've been drinking. You might fall asleep and set your bed or sofa on fire. Take it outside: Make your home and car smoke-free to prevent fires and protect children and others living with you. Since 1st October 2015, it is illegal to smoke in a car (or other vehicle) with anyone under 18. The law changed to protect children and young people from secondhand smoke.
Smoking or a naked flame could cause patients' dressings or clothing to catch fire when being treated with a paraffin-based emollient that is in contact with the dressing or clothing. DO NOT smoke and/or use naked flames (or be near people who are smoking or using naked flames) or go near anything that may cause a fire while emollients are in contact with their medical dressings or clothing. Change patient clothing and bedding regularly—preferably daily—because emollients soak into the fabric and can become a fire hazard. Incidents should be reported to NHS England's Serious Incident Framework (includes Wales), or to the Health and Social Care Boards in Northern Ireland. For questions regarding alerts in Scotland, contact Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Examples of paraffin-based emollients include:
- White soft paraffin
- White soft paraffin plus 50% liquid paraffin
- Emulsifying ointment
For information about Electronic Cigarettes/Vapes, see our Electrics page.
The risks of smoking at home in BSL
