Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service

Welcome to the official website for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

Here you will find information on our aims, responsibilities, our organisation and our locations. Also included are full details on fire safety and joining the service.

Please click on the links below to find out more. 

 

Fire Safety at Christmas

Whilst the Christmas and New Year period is a time of celebration, it can also be a time of increased risk of fire in the home. With this in mind, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service would recommend that you make yourself familiar with their 12 Fire Safety Tips for Christmas in order to help you to keep safe from fire during the festive season.

Smoke Alarms - Important Information

Residents are being urged not to remove smoke detectors that have been fitted by Suffolk  Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) if the low battery alarm sounds.

The advice comes after a rare incident in November where a smoke detector, previously fitted by a different Fire & Rescue Service, caught fire. The small fire was extinguished by the occupier using a bucket of water and no one was hurt.

It is believed that the smoke detector had been removed from the ceiling after the low battery alarm had been sounding and an investigation is now underway. 

SFRS is liaising with the manufacturer and the investigation will include a forensic examination of the detector, carried out by independent experts.

As part of this investigation, every Fire and Rescue Service in the country has been contacted to find out if there have been any other incidents involving these detectors. At this time it is believed that there has been only one other incident nationally which also involved a detector that had been removed from the ceiling. There have been no reported incidents of this type in Suffolk. The two problems we are aware of should also be taken into context with the millions of smoke detectors fitted nationally.

At this time there is no evidence of any fires nationally which have been caused by detectors that are correctly situated on ceilings and residents are urged not to remove them.

Smoke detectors save lives and it is vital that every property has smoke detectors fitted and that they are tested every week.

Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service has been fitting smoke detectors for a number of years now and, whilst the batteries can last a considerable time, if the low battery alarm activates on one the Service has fitted people should leave it in situ and contact Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service who will then arrange for it to be replaced.

Residents whose low battery alarm has been sounding on their Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service-fitted smoke detectors are asked to contact the Service on 01473 260588.

 


Hard of Hearing? 

Sign up to a free of charge text messaging service to contact 999. Calls for all emergency services - fire and rescue, police, ambulance and coastguard can be relayed and the service is supported by the RNIB. You simply need to register your mobile.  For further details see the Emergency SMS website. 

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