3C Winter Fire Safety Morning Tea

Published on Tuesday, 12 July 2022 at 1:52:22 PM

Volunteer Fire Fighter, Pete shares his Winter fire safety tips

Coolgardie winters are cold, and many households use wood, gas, or electricity to keep warm.  Pete, Volunteer Fire Fighter joined us for morning tea to share a few winters safety tips.

Heating

Wood fires require good ventilation to work safely. Avoid clothes drying in front of chimney fires and burning green wood as it causes soot and tar build up.  Gas heaters should be well maintained/serviced and installed by qualified technician. Filters should also be cleaned regularly.  Electric heaters can easily fall over and cause a fire. A simple way to check their safety is to lift the heater up when turned on – your heater should stop working as part of the built-in safety mechanism.  Reverse cycle air conditioners/heaters are the most efficient heaters. However, check filters are clean.

Tips

A great idea is to use cling wrap to wrap up your stored heaters during summer to keep them in good working order and free from dust. Clothes dryers clean the lint filters regularly. Set the dryer time to only what is needed.  Do not put grease or oil covered clothes in the dryer as they can be highly flammable. Stove cooking should always be watched and keep flammable items away from the cook top. Do not use water to put out this type of fire, use the lid or a fire blanket to smother the fire. If the oven catches alight, turn it off and keep the oven door closed until safe to open. Smoke alarm batteries should be replaced on the 1st of April each year. To double check your smoke alarm is working, turn off power at the mains – your smoke detector should start alarming. If you see a fire at home or when travelling, call 000 as a priority. The 000 Call Centre is equipped to deploy responders immediately and can arrange back up support to save lives, homes and protect our community.

Thanks Pete, for this valuable advice.

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