Blog
Fire Safety Training
Tips and tricks to be fire safe.
A recent training session on Fire Safety was presented by Michael Harrison of the Roslyn Fire Station, a part of the New Zealand Fire Service.
Statistics show that the majority of house fires in New Zealand are caused in rental properties where there are no operating smoke alarms. At the very minimum all houses should have at least 1 working smoke alarm.
Have you tested the smoke alarms in your house recently?
Michael went over the importance of electrical compliance and making sure that plugs were not overloaded. This is common in a lot of older Dunedin houses where the amount of plug sockets are limited, and people commonly have a TV, stereo, heater, phone charger, computer, hair drier and hair straighteners all running off multi boxes or a couple of plugs. These can very easily overheat and cause fires.
Other simple tips are:
- Follow the "metre heater" rule, where nothing should be closer than 1 metre to any heater or fire. This includes drying or warming clothes!
- Put hot fire ashes into metal ash buckets and watering these to cool the embers (ash can stay hot for days after the fire is extinguished)
- Don't dry damp wood on top of any lit fireplace
- Don't leave your lap top or cell phone plugged in, sitting on your bed all day as this can cause over heating
- Always ensure that you place lit candles on a solid holder or plate (preferably metal or glass)
- Regularly clean out your clothes drier lint filter. Every drier has a filter- so if you don't know where yours is, ask!
- Have your electric blankets and any electrical appliance with loose cords or wires checked regularly by certified electrical inspector.
Click is a strong advocate of 10 year life smoke alarms. These can be more expensive to initially purchase but if you add up the cost of a cheaper smoke alarm and the cost of batteries over 10 years, these long life smoke alarms work out far better for your wallet- and best of all you will not be annoyed by beeping batteries or have the hassle of having to change them.
So, if you want Click Property Management to check or arrange installation of smoke alarms, or get your power points and electrical boards checked, we would be happy to assist.
You can call our office on 0800 125 425 or email office@click4rent.co.nz
