Reduce risk of house fire with home safety checklist

Wednesday, 3 April, 2019

On average, there are 3000 house fires in Victoria every year, many of which can be prevented by taking simple precautions.

Strathbogie Shire Council’s Municipal Emergency Manager Ken Ross is urging residents to check and clean their chimneys and flues to ensure they are clear and safe and to revisit the Country Fire Authority’s (CFA) Home Fire Safety Checklist.

“Houses catch fire every year due to a lack of cleaning and maintenance of chimneys and flues,” Mr Ross explained.

“Winter is the highest risk period for residential fires, and many of these fires are caused by heaters, flues and chimneys that often have not been used for many months.”

All heating appliances should be installed by a qualified tradesperson, and correctly maintained in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

It is also a good time to replace batteries on your smoke alarms and practice your home fire escape plan.

Your home fire escape plan should include two ways to escape each room of the house and a designated safe meeting point, such as the letterbox.

There should be a smoke alarm outside every sleeping area and alarms should be tested monthly.

Complete the Home Fire Safety Checklist on CFA’s website: www.cfa.vic.gov.au/homechecklist.