Fire brigade visit

Three firemen have just visited our home with a fourth fireman sitting outside in a huge fire engine, waiting for them (or for an emergency call-out).

They gave our house a check, and advised us about:

• having working smoke alarms
• keeping doors closed at night and noted how well some of our old doors fit.
• discussing escape plans from the various rooms. I've thought about that - my mother always used to think about it as soon as we went away somewhere new or for a holiday. Now I worry about where my children are living: do they have an escape route from their college room, second floor flat, or rented house? I hope so.

Buckinghamshire Fire Service provided this check and an hour of advice free of charge, and
they gave us some super-duper smoke alarms, even fitted three of them and left the fourth for us to put up when we've fixed the plaster on the hall ceiling that fell down - see here. Although we already were well covered for smoke alarms, most have batteries that last only a year. The new ones are ten year alarms. Apparently you can get alarms that link together too, so if a fire started in the cellar when you're asleep in the attic, so you'd not hear the cellar alarm, it would link to the attic alarm, and set it off. Has anyone else heard of such alarms?

If you live in Buckinghamshire, get the check done. It's free and simple, they even come round on Sunday afternoons, not when you're out at work.

• By telephone – contact the Community Safety Team Administrator on 01296 744 477...
• By e-mail – cs@bucksfire.gov.uk

Details are at http://www.bucksfire.gov.uk/BucksFire/Community+Safety/Home+Fire+Risk+Checks/.

If you live somewhere else, ask the county fire services what they offer.