In the UK alone, something like half a million homes are affected by fire each year. There are countless reasons for these potentially catastrophic disasters, ranging from the broad scale (like the factor of overpopulation and crowded buildings in major urban areas) to individual scenarios such as cigarettes not properly extinguished.There are therefore some steps which every home should go through in order to prevent this kind of thing happening to you, and to ensure that your house does not become part of the above statistic:·

• Smoke alarms: although most houses are fitted with at least one alarm, usually on the ground level or near the kitchen, it’s well worth putting one on each level of the property. Furthermore, these have to be tested on a weekly basis, and it’s recommended that the batteries are replaced at least once per year.
• Awareness in the kitchen: over fifty percent of accidental fires in the home start as a result of hot oil spilling onto a naked flame, or something catching fire on a hob that has been left on due to neglect.
• Electrical fires: it isn’t safe to try and fit in as many plugs to one socket as is physically possible, as the kind of overheating caused by excessive electrical charge could well set fire to nearby materials and curtains. If you do need to use extension socket banks due to a lack of wall sockets, try to keep as few of the appliances running at one time as possible, thereby reducing the likelihood of dangerously high temperatures.
• Candles and decorative lights: open flames are great ways of making a house look comfortable and cosy, but they contribute significantly to the list of what causes accidental fires. While it might be common sense to keep candles away from fabrics, paper, and curtains, it’s also worth ensuring that they have been properly extinguished before leaving a room.

Even after taking these precautions, there may well be unfortunate moments when your property is damaged by fire, and in light of this it is perhaps worth considering taking out some suitable cover. Home insurance offers standard accidental damage, high risk item cover and a 24 hour emergency helpline so could be worth investigating.Preventing fire from affecting you personally is ultimately a question of being safe and careful in your home, but insurance can offer you additional peace of mind with regards to this kind of situation.

Updates have been made and several more pages have been added to the fire safety website. There is information on a broader range of topics related to fire risks and hazards - including a page on fire property insurance, fire burns and injuries,  about fire itself and how it has been controlled, all alongside a separate and growing section for employment opportunities in the fire protection industry.