We intend to:
- Employ home safety officers to carry out the home fire safety
checks.
- Target home fire safety checks at high-risk groups, such as
older people and people living in rented accommodation. We will do
this by sharing information with other services; for example,
through the Homeshield referral scheme. When people are visited as
part of this scheme, they may receive general community safety
advice, including information about fire safety.
- Strengthen our messages about preventing fires, which are part
of our programme of community fire safety initiatives.
- Work with partners to improve safety in the home. This is one
of the county council’s Local Area Agreement targets, and includes
work on slips, trips and falls and distraction burglary, as well as
fire safety.
Case study
Homeshield is an innovative scheme in Suffolk that helps improve
the quality of life for vulnerable people, and particularly the
elderly. Front-line officers who visit people in their homes are
asked to identify potential risks or factors that can affect the
person's quality of life. They then use one form to get different
organisations to help that person. Identifying potential fire risks
that should be addressed is one of the four key areas they look
at.
Since April 2007, almost 300 referrals have been received by
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service to carry out home fire safety
checks.