Alarming smoke alarm data causes concern in Essex
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) has released concerning new data revealing an alarming fire safety issue in Essex. Between April 2023 and March 2024 there was 732 house fires in Essex, however only 55.5% of homes had working smoke alarms.
The fire service is urging Essex residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms, which they describe as the best equipment to protect your home.
Smoke alarm are proven life savers. When installed and working correctly, they provide early warning in the event of a fire and significantly increase the chance of safely evacuating your home and reducing the risk of injury and death. However, the recent findings indicate that nearly half of the homes affected by house fires in Essex were without this essential protection.
“This data is shocking and extremely worrying” said Claire Monk, Live Safe Manager at ECFRS. "Smoke alarms are a simple, cost-effective measure that can save lives. We provide and smoke alarms to any home in Essex completely free of charge, and have specialist sensory smoke alarms for those with hearing impairment. Our smoke alarms have 10 year batteries, are unobtrusive and are easy to test. The fact that only 55.5% of the affected properties had working smoke alarms is worrying” added Claire.
In response to these alarming statistics, the fire service is launching an urgent campaign to promote the installation, testing and maintenance of smoke alarms in every home in Essex. Claire said: “As well as installing smoke alarms, it is vital that smoke alarms are regularly tested and maintained to ensure they are working correctly. All smoke alarms, even hard-wired smoke alarms, need changing every 10 years, and can often get contaminated with dust or insects, so we recommend giving your smoke alarm a vacuum to keep it clean."
"We are committed to ensuring the safety of our community," added Claire. "By working together we can significantly reduce the risk of fire-related injuries and fatalities. We urge everyone to check their smoke alarms today and take action to protect their homes and loved ones."
For more information on fire safety and how to get your free smoke alarms, please visit: essex-fire.gov.uk/book or call 0300 303 0088.