Introduction

Welcome to the Summer 2024 edition of our newsletter sharing with partners the work North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service are doing to keep our communities safe from fire.  Previous editions can be found on our website alongside other resources for partners www.northyorksfire.gov.uk/your-safety/safe-athome/home-fire-safety-partnerships

We aim to complete thousands of home fire safety visits this financial year but to achieve this we need referrals from you. If you are supporting somebody who is over 65, lives alone, has a physical or mental disability or lives further away from a Fire Station  please have a conversation with them about fire safety and seek consent to refer them for a Home Fire Safety Visit because fire does discriminate and national statistics indicate that these individuals are at greater risk.

The prevention themes we will be focusing on in North Yorkshire over the summer months are water safety and wildfire.  Nationally there is also a campaign running about cooking in July.  In this edition we have included some Fire Investigation statistics to show why cooking has it’s own campaign month.  We have also included some information about battery recycling which everybody can follow to help prevent fires at waste recycling centres.

How to refer for a home fire safety check

You can refer for one of our Home Fire Safety Visits via our website website or install the free Home Fire Safety Check app from Google Play

Please remember to gain consent from the occupier before making a referral. If you are sat with somebody completing the online home fire safety check please select the correct boxes to allow us to identify that it is an agency referral.  This would be “No – I am completing this check for someone else” before selecting your relationship to them.  This helps us to understand who is referring to the Fire Service, identify good practice and where there are gaps in the training we provide.

In September we are attending a national Online Home Fire Safety Check conference.  If you have any feedback about using the website or the app that you would like to feed into the day please let us know.

Upcoming Prevention Campaigns

To ensure the safety messages we are providing are relevant and have the most impact we follow a fire prevention campaign calendar which reflects different seasonal activities.   To find out more visit  https://www.northyorksfire.gov.uk/your-safety/safety-campaigns/

Cooking is the National  Fire Chief Council’s safety theme for July. Nationally cooking causes more accidental fires in the home than anything else. Cooking-related fires tend to result in the most non-fatal casualties and the second most fatalities (behind smoking products).

In the last month Fire Investigators were called to 21 residential fires in North Yorkshire.  57% of these fires have been attributed to cooking appliances eg the cooker, hob, grill or toaster.  A further 19% were attributed to appliances often found in the kitchen eg a dishwasher, washing machine or tumble dryer. The kitchen is one of the highest fire risk areas in someone’s home.

If you see signs of unsafe practices in someone’s kitchen ask if they would like a Home Fire Safety Visit from the Fire Service. You can submit a referral while you are in their home using the Home Fire Safety app.  Indicators might include:

• Tee towels, cloths or other items stored on the hob
• Anecdotes of the cooker being left on after they’ve finished cooking or pans being left on the hob unattended
• A suspicion of cooking while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• A build up of fat and grease in the oven
• Using a deep fat fryer or pan of oil
• The only escape route from the property being through the kitchen

 Northern Gas Networks

Northern Gas Network also work to keep vulnerable people safe from fire. During our Home Fire Safety Visits we might make a referral for their locking cooker valve but others can too.

 What is a Locking Cooker Valve?

We understand that customers in vulnerable circumstances, including people with Dementia, Autism, those suffering strokes and other memory loss conditions, require extra safeguarding in place.  A locking cooker valve helps customers with those conditions, to retain their independence at home and also provides reassurance to family, friends and carers.

This simple safety device is fitted to existing gas cooker pipework. When the valve is locked, the gas supply to the cooker / hob is stopped. This removes the risk of the cooker being unintentionally turned on or left on. It also provides peace of mind to the carer or relative, that the cooker can’t be used when they leave the house or room. The carer or relative can easily turn the valve on using the key when the cooker is required, therefore enabling the person living with the condition, to continue to use their gas cooker / hob safely.

General information

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) are working in partnership with the other UK Gas Distribution Networks (GDN’s) to offer this free service nationwide, regardless of who the gas supplier is. There is no requirement to change gas supplier, nor inform the gas supplier of the device.

This is also publicised on NGN’s website where you can submit a referral form.

www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/locking-cooker-valve

Recycle Your Electricals Campaign

Batteries hidden in electricals caused over 700 fires last year, when crushed in recycling centres, bins and recycling lorries.

Station Manager Adam Farrow says: “Thankfully we have not attended too many fires caused by batteries being disposed of in household waste within North Yorkshire, however other Fire Services have seen an increase in recent years. These type of fires are very costly to extinguish, they can take a long time, pose severe risks to our staff and very damaging to the environment. “Please don’t place items that contain batteries in your usual household waste, instead take them to your local recycling centre where they can be disposed of properly.”

www.northyorksfire.gov.uk/yoursafety/safety-campaigns/recycle-your-electricalscampaign/

NYFRS are supporting the Recycle Your Electricals Campaign created by Material Focus to raise awareness about the risks of throwing electricals and batteries into general waste

It’s as easy as ABC

Ask

Does your electrical item contain batteries? If so, they may cause a fire if not recycled properly. So remove the batteries to recycle them separately. Do not put them in the general rubbish bin.

Bag It

Set aside a bag just for batteries. Then each time you remove a battery from a gadget, put it in the bag ready to take to a recycling point.

Check

Use a recycling locator to find your nearest electrical recycling point – often found in supermarkets and shops. You can recycle household batteries and car batteries, free of charge, at all North Yorkshire Council household waste recycling centres.

New Partnership Manager!

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service would like to formally introduce you to and welcome our new Partnership Manager, Laura Hodgson. Laura started work in this newly created role in June after previously been working as a Community Safety Officer for us for 5 years and prior to that was part of our Capabilities team. Laura was successful in obtaining the job following a very competitive process and I am very pleased to be working with her in this capacity.

Having previously being heavily involved in the Partnership training roll out, newsletter creation and a significant amount of liaison and relationship building with partners she brings with her a wealth of experience and passion which will help further improve our partnership work and help keep people in North Yorkshire and York be safe and feel safe.

Laura’s initial tasks involve further bolstering our Partnership offer, increasing the amount of training we deliver as well working with national groups to improve our systems and processes so that information sharing is easier, and communication is better.

Back in 2022 we recognised that our Partnership work had skyrocketed and that there are huge benefits to working in partnership to help safeguard the most vulnerable, and we are delighted that we have been able to recruit Laura to a position that can help us with that work and increase our capacity to do more. If you want to know more about Laura’s role please feel free to get in touch with us and please as well, help me welcome her into the role which I know she is going to excel at.

Adam Farrow, Station Manager, Prevention

Partner Training Update

We have planned some themed training events this Autumn which can be booked via Eventbrite; search for NYFRS Prevention.

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/nyfrs-home-fire-safety-training-for-partners-3447699

Following this training attendees will be able to identify people who are vulnerable to fires, recognise fire safety issues in the home and understand how to make a referral to North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service for a Home Fire Safety Visit.  Certificates of attendance for CPD folders can be provided upon request.

If you would like some bespoke training for your organisation or team please free to get in touch.  We can arrange some training either on Microsoft Teams or in person and at a time and venue which suits attendees.

Becoming a Home Fire Safety Visit (HFSV) Referral Partner

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service assess the priority of all the HFSV referrals we receive and arrange a HFSV to be carried out within certain timescales depending on the risk.  We would like to share back information with you as the referring partner about when a service user and/or property is found to be at increased risk, to enable integration of risk reduction recommendations into care and support plans.

To be able to do this properly we are creating an Information Sharing Protocol and would like all partners to sign it.  It is important to clarify that we are already sharing information lawfully because it is done with the intention of safeguarding, but signing the protocol follows best practice guidance.

Signing up as a referral partner also maximises the opportunities for joint working and creativity when it comes to keeping our communities safe from harm.  If you are not sure if your organisation has already signed up or have some ideas about joint working please contact Laura Hodgson at prevention@northyorksfire.gov.uk

To sign up as a partner visit our website Home Fire Safety Visit Partnerships – North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (northyorksfire.gov.uk)

Subscription to the newsletter

This newsletter aims to promote Home Fire Safety Visits to a wide audience of professionals and increase targeted referrals for Home Fire Safety Visits.  There are also fire prevention messages we can all benefit from.  Please share this newsletter with your colleagues and if you know anyone that would like to subscribe to this newsletter then they can sign up  here distribution list here.  If you would like to unsubscribe then please let us know by emailing Prevention@northyorksfire.gov.uk.

Coming next time

The October edition of Partnering in Fire Prevention will contain more fire investigation insights, seasonal prevention messages and another spotlighted workplace app. Please contact us if you have any suggested topics you would like to see included.

 Contact us:

Prevention@northyorksfire.gov.uk   or call 01609 780150