Fire Safety Week
Fire Safety Week, which is run jointly with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, takes place from October 4th to 11th and focuses on fire safety in the home. Most house fires start in the living room followed by the bedroom and the kitchen. The most common time for a fatal fire to occur is from midnight to 2.00am and most fatal fires occur during the winter months.
In 2020, fire claimed the lives of 29 people in Ireland. Crews from Cork County Council’s Fire Service attended 1,828 incidents in 2020. Of these, 326 were fire-related incidents in homes. Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Gillian Coughlan highlighted how the statistics emphasise the importance of having working smoke alarms in your home, “Nationally, there has been a decline in fire related deaths over the past 15 years due to general fire safety awareness together with the uptake in domestic smoke alarms. Households should have at least one smoke alarm on every floor which must be tested regularly to confirm it is working and can alert people when needed. Why not start your own routine of smoke alarm checks by simply pressing the test button until the detector alarms and do it on a set day so that a habit can be formed, for example, Test It Tuesday!”
Paul Griffin is the Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Cork County Council, “While house fires in Cork County were down when compared to recent years, such fires still represent a significant risk to people, especially those living alone and those over 65. Sadly, there were 29 fatalities from fires across the country in 2020 with all but one of these occurring in homes. There were no smoke alarms present in half of these homes while another quarter had a smoke alarm, but it was found to be not working. A working smoke is vital to alert or wake you in the event of a fire.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey added, “In response to the Covid-19 pandemic we spent more time at home. It was more important than ever that we were all aware of the steps we can take to protect ourselves and our homes from fire. Now, as society begins to open back up, and we return to work and education, it is important we don’t get complacent. This year’s Fire Safety Week focus is on fire safety in the home, encouraging all homes to have smoke alarms and to test them weekly. We hope to help the public build and maintain good Fire Safe habits as routines return to some sort of normality.”
As part of National Fire Safety Week, Cork County Council’s Fire Service is running a colouring and art competition for primary school children. Children in junior infants to second class can choose from several sets of pictures to colour while older students in third to sixth class can draw a picture or design a poster showing an important fire safety message or slogan. Winners will be picked from each class. The prizes include toy vouchers and home fire safety equipment. Further details are available on the Cork County Fire Service Facebook page. A selection of entries will be featured on the page each week. The competition will run from Monday, October 4th to Friday, October 29th, with the winners announced in November.
For further fire safety tips and advice, please follow Cork County Fire Service on Facebook and Twitter or visit the Fire Safety Week website.