SPRING INTO ACTION AND PLEDGE TO SAVE LIVES

 Give your smoke alarms a spring clean – Tick Tock Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when you change your clocks this weekend.

 Fire Kills is asking people across the country to welcome British Summer Time by Tick Tock Testing their smoke alarms when they change their clocks over the weekend of 28-29 March.

As we prepare for the warmer weather and the joys of spring, many of us already have a long list of chores like cleaning windows, painting hallways or tidying up the garden.  For many people testing smoke alarms is often low on their list of priorities, so the Fire Kills campaign, in partnership with fire and rescue authorities, is asking people to make an online pledge to test their smoke alarms this clock change weekend. It could save your life.

Most people think that a fire will never break out in their homes but you’re at least four times more likely to die in a fire in your home if you do not have a working smoke alarm. A simple push of the ‘test’ button only takes seconds, so make sure it’s added to your spring to-do list as it could save your life and the lives of family, friends and neighbours – especially older people who need help testing. Sadly over half of all people who die in fires in the home are aged 65 or over.

Many householders don’t realise that the smoke from a fire in the home is so dangerous that it can leave them for dead.  Smoke will not wake you up if there is a fire in your home – it will kill you. Smoke is responsible for over half of all deaths in accidental fires in homes. A working smoke alarm is the best way to make sure you have enough time to get out, stay out and dial 999. The Fire Kills national campaign is a timely reminder to persuade people to test their smoke alarms when they are changing their clocks around their home.  The campaign uses powerful press and online images, a hard-hitting radio advert (voiced by actor Robbie Gee) and a compelling new online video to show how smoke from a fire engulfs innocent people as they sleep.

In March 2014, nearly one in seven people tested their smoke alarms when they changed their clocks to British Summer Time. This spring, Fire Kills is determined that even more people will keep their loved ones safer from fire by testing their smoke alarms. Everyone can join in and pledge to test via the Fire Kills Facebook page or online and mobile phone adverts.

Working smoke alarms can give people the wake-up call they need to escape – because smoke will not!

Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt said;

The simple act of pressing a button and testing the smoke alarms in your home could be the difference between life and death. On clock change weekend, when you put the clocks in your home forward by an hour, I urge everyone to Tick Tock Test their smoke alarms too. It takes very little extra time and could well be a life saver. In March 2014 nearly 1 in 7 people reached for the test button and I hope that this year many more do the same – not just in their own homes but in the homes of those they know and love who might need help testing. I want to see thousands of responsible householders pledging to test – and then doing it over the weekend of 28-29 March. Let’s save more lives.

The Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser Peter Holland said:

Smoke alarms are a well-proven life saving tool, but they are no use if they are not working. You are at least four times more likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a working smoke alarm, so taking the time to test the smoke alarms in your home could be a truly lifesaving decision. The clock change weekend can act as a great reminder to test your smoke alarms – so over the weekend of 28-29 March why not test yours when you change the clocks or are catching up on those DIY jobs around your home.