During the cold weather, it’s important to stay warm however it is easy to let safety take the back seat. Follow our safety tips to help keep yourself, your family and friends and your homes and businesses safe:

1. When using heaters carry the British Safety Standard sign (right)
2. Make sure you don’t leave flammable materials next to heaters and always supervise them
3. If you have an open fire, make sure to get your chimney inspected and cleaned if required
4. Make sure you have smoke alarms and CO detectors in your home and test them weekly. We recommend #TestItTuesday to help you remember!
5. Also remember to test elderly relatives’ and friends’ smoke and CO detectors for them
6. Only use space heaters that have an emergency shut off feature in case they fall over
7. When using open fires, make sure you use an fire guard and ensure that the fire is properly out before you leave the room
8. Never use a hot water bottle and electric blanket in the same bed – even if the blanket is turned off
9. Always switch off electric blankets before you go to sleep
10. Never use space heaters to dry clothes
11. Never leave candles burning unsupervised or next to combustibles
12. Never use an oven or range to heat your house
13. If your home has sustained flood or water damage, and you can safely get to the main breaker or fuse box, turn off the power
14. Make sure ashes are cool before putting them into a metal container and keep the container a safe distance away from the home

Contact us for any extra advice!