Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters across the state have been visiting retirement villages to share life-saving advice about fire dangers to protect those most vulnerable.
Now, as we head towards summer, local crews are hoping that those in the wider community will take a page out of their books, and book a home fire safety visit.
Regentville Station Officer Matt Ligteringen first started doing fire safety visits at Nepean Shores in Jamisontown in March this year, following a spike in incidents both at the retirement community, and for this age group more generally.
“We’ve identified that the elderly are most at risk of injury and death in residential fires. One in two fire deaths in New South Wales are people aged over 65,” he said.
“The reason that I did Nepean Shores was because we have a responsibility to identify risk groups in our station areas, and we’d gone to a few incidents at Nepean Shores in preceding months, so that to me was a red flag, and an opportunity to get a fire safety message out there.”
Over the course of the program, he and his crew did over 50 visits within this community, educating residents about potential fire hazards.
“We talk to them about the risks, so for older people, there are more specific risks,” he said.
“Almost half of all house fires actually start in the kitchen, so we talk a little bit about the kitchen – cooking fires, electrical appliances, storing flammables, what to do if your pan catches on fire, what are the appropriate extinguishers to use.
“We also talk about leaving candles unattended, not having a working smoke alarm, smoking and the dangers of falling asleep when smoking, as well as things like having lint in your clothes dryers, not repairing things yourself, and not overloading power boards.”
In light of this, he’s hoping to help spread fire safety messaging throughout the community more broadly, encouraging everyone to book in a home fire safety visit if they can.
Home fire safety visits enable local firefighters to provide specific fire safety information for you in relation to your home and lifestyle. With resident permission, they will travel around your home and property, pointing out any potential hazards, and providing advice.
“It gives them peace of mind, and it gives them very practical tools that they can implement – what to do in an emergency, having a home escape plan, ‘keep looking when you’re cooking’ – and we can empower them to make good decisions and form good habits that will prevent emergency incidents in the home,” he said.
As part of these visits, and in general, Ligteringen said that the most important part is ensuring you have a working smoke alarm. In a home fire safety visit, firefighters can replace or install one for you, completely free of charge.
“We like to test it every month, vacuum or dust it every six months, replace the battery every year, and replace the entire unit every 10 years,” he said.
“They now have 10-year lithium battery smoke detectors, which avoid the necessity for having to change the battery yearly. Generally, the units that we’re installing now for people are these 10-year battery smoke detectors.”
For more information or to book a fire safety visit, visit http://www.fire.nsw.gov.au or call your local fire station.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.