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Sat Bains and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue unite against toxic smoke (notts fire and rescue release)

Award winning Nottingham-based chef Sat Bains, and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service are joining forces to support the latest Fire Kills seasonal campaign, 'Don’t Drown in Toxic Smoke'.

People often get distracted by the hustle and bustle of Christmas and are unaware of the potential fire hazards that can lurk in the kitchen, and from using candles and flammable decorations. Latest figures from the Fire Kills national campaign show a rise in the number of accidental fire deaths and injuries over the festive period. In 2008 there were 33,000 accidental house fires, 10% of which occurred in the run up to Christmas Day. Of these, 57% started in the kitchen.

The ‘Don’t Drown in Toxic Smoke’ television advertising campaign will be running over the Christmas period and dramatically shows how quickly toxic smoke can affect the human body. A sleeping couple are shown being overcome by the drowning sensation of toxic smoke when a fire breaks out in their home at night.

Nottinghamshire’s only Michelin star chef Sat Bains, whose restaurant was recently awarded the ultimate 5 rosettes by the AA, is pleased to be supporting the Service’s campaign.

Working in a professional kitchen, I’m only too aware of the dangers associated with cooking and preparing food. I’m really pleased to be helping raise awareness of the fire and rescue service’s campaign. The fact is that fires can and do happen so it’s important to check your home smoke alarm weekly and to be aware of the dangers particularly at this time of year. I hope that by highlighting these issues we will be ensuring people have a safer Christmas.

Watch Manager Mick Chilton, who works in the Service’s Community Safety team says:

The risk of fire in the home is an all year round issue – however people are particularly vulnerable at Christmas for many reasons ranging from unsafe electrical decorations, unattended candles through to cooking whilst drunk. People also vastly underestimate the deadly strength of toxic smoke and overestimate how long they have to escape should a fire break out. The reality is that just two to three breaths of smoke in a fire can render a person unconscious. Christmas should be a time for celebration rather than tragedy and for this reason I’m urging people to be fire aware and stay fire safe.

We’re really grateful to Sat for helping us launch our campaign and highlighting this important issue. Look out for the national television campaign as well as our firefighters out and about promoting this campaign over the next few months.

Here are Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s top tips to stay safe from fire this Christmas:

• Ensure you have a working smoke alarm installed on all levels of your home. Test your smoke alarms weekly and never remove batteries to power presents!

• Never leave cooking unattended and avoid cooking whilst drunk. The majority of fires start in the kitchen so this is a high risk area. Always turn off kitchen appliances when you have finished cooking.

• Never leave candles unattended. Keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, fires, lights and heaters.

• Ensure you switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed, or leave the house. Check your Christmas tree lights conform to the British Standard (BS EN 60598).

• Always use an RCD (residual current device) on outdoor electrical equipment (a safety device that can save lives by instantly switching off the power if there is a fault).

• Don’t overload sockets – ensure only one plug per socket. Always turn off plugs when they are not in use, except those that are designed to be left on, like fridges and freezers.

• Make sure cigarettes are extinguished properly and never smoke in bed. Put it out, right out.

• Check on older relatives and neighbours this Christmas, as they are at greater risk from fire.

And finally, in the event of fire: get out, stay out and call 999.

(Wed 9 December 2009 09:00:00 GMT)

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