Fire safety is considered very important in Australia. A fire in your home can cause serious injury to you, your friends and family, or destroy your belongings. There are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of a fire in your home. Firstly, you should install a smoke alarm. In some states, smoke alarms are mandatory, but if there isn’t an alarm where you live, you should get one. Smoke alarms are important because they can detect smoke long before you can, especially if you’re sleeping. They should be installed on or near the ceiling, close to bedrooms. If your house already has smoke alarms, you should make sure the batteries are still working.

Most house fires start in the kitchen, but a lot start in bedrooms and lounge-rooms as well. Half the fires in the kitchen start because people leave cooking unattended, so watching your food while you cook not only stops your house burning down, but also stops you burning your meal! Cooking with oil can be dangerous, and if it catches on fire, never throw water on it. Just turn off the heat, and if it is safe, cover it with a lid until it goes out and cools down. It is also important to never bring outdoor cooking equipment, like barbeques, inside your home, even if it is raining. Barbeques have open flames and produce a lot of smoke and were designed to cook outside only!

Compared to some countries, winter in Australia is not cold at all, but compared to others, it is very cold. Either way, more fires start in the winter months, because people spend more time inside, with fires and heaters to keep warm. You need to be careful with heaters and electric blankets to make sure they are working properly. Check your electric blanket for frayed cords, and keep clothes, blankets and other combustibles away from heaters or fireplaces.

Australia always has a lot of bushfires, especially when the weather is hot and windy. On some days, when bushfires can spread very easily, there can be a total fire ban. You can find information about protecting your home against bushfires here.

If you, or your friends or family, have trouble reading English, there is a lot of fire safety information available in many languages here. In New South Wales at least, the Fire Brigade also has translation services.

The most important thing is to call the Fire Brigade on 000 if you can’t extinguish a fire.

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