Issued on: Thursday 26 September 2019Celebrate Safely this Navratri
This weekend marks the beginning of the Navratri celebrations, a Hindu festival that spans over nine days.
As part of the Celebrate Safely campaign which takes place across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, we are reminding people how to stay safe during the Navratri celebrations.
Celebrate Safely involves Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council, Rutland County Council and the district and borough councils. It provides useful safety tips and advice from all the services involved, during the many celebrations and events at this time of the year.
If you are celebrating Navratri, we want to ensure you and your family are safe at home. One way to keep your home safe, is by having a working smoke alarm.
Wayne Gale, Station Manager at Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: “People tend to do a lot of cooking during this festive celebration, so it is essential to have working smoking alarms on every level of your property.
“Accidents do happen when cooking, and if they do a smoke alarm has the potential to save lives.
“If you do accidently set your smoke alarm off when cooking, open a window, ventilate the property and the smoke alarm should reset itself.
“We recommend you test your smoke alarm once a month and make sure it’s working.”
In the last five years we have attended over 500 cooking related fires. If you are cooking a feast during Navratri, we encourage you to cook safely. If you are frying, remember not to fill your pan with more than a third of oil. If it starts to smoke, turn the pan off and allow it to cool. Never leave your cooking pans unattended with the heat switched on. If a fire does start, do not try to fight it yourself, leave the house and call 999.
If you are out celebrating Navratri, remember to turn off any cooking appliances, blow out any candles and beware of your surroundings and belongings.
Katie Hudson, the Children and Young Persons Officer for Leicestershire Police, said: “To make sure everyone has a safe and happy Navratri we are encouraging people to take some crime prevention steps to keep themselves and their belongings safe. It can be as simple as wearing a scarf to cover jewellery when out and about.
“When you are celebrating Navratri, we hope that by following the Celebrate Safely advice you will have a safe and enjoyable time.”
For more tips on how to celebrate safely this Navratri, visit: www.celebratesafely.com.
ENDS
Notes to Editors: Interviews can be arranged through prior arrangement with Corporate Communications on the details below.
About the Service
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service provides emergency response, prevention and protection services from 20 stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Its headquarters is based in Birstall, Leicester.
During 2018/19, the Service attended 762 road traffic collisions, of which 125 were extrications from vehicles, in addition to 2,569 fires. We carried out 6,746 home safety checks and fitted 4,790 smoke alarms. 279 schools were visited as part of the Service’s schools programme, delivering fire and road safety education to pupils. Staff organised or took part in 1,068 community safety events, promoting fire and road safety and arson prevention, and 134 Virtual Fatal Four (VF4) events as part of the Service’s young drivers’ road safety project.
The Service’s prevention, education, enforcement and inspection programmes have resulted in significant reductions in the number of incidents. In the last ten years, fire-related incidents have reduced by over 30 percent.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Direct: 0116 210 5591
corporate.communications@leics-fire.gov.uk
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