WITHOUT a working smoke alarm in your home, you are more than six times more likely to die in a fire, the Government has warned. Put more starkly, if you do not have working smoke alarms in your home, your chances of surviving a fire when you are asleep are almost zero.
However, although four out of every five households have a smoke alarm, there are still about 100 deaths each year in Scotland due to fire, many of them in the home.
One of the factors contributing to these deaths is panic. If the members of a family have not thought out and discussed what they would do in the event of a fire, they can become confused and fail to react quickly and sensibly.
A safety campaign has been launched by the Home Office and although it is aimed at those south of the Border, the message is equally applicable in Scotland. It is urging householders to draw up an emergency plan to escape their homes in the event of a fire, have regular fire drills, form escape plans and install fire alarms.
Home Office Minister Mike O'Brien says: ''Last year 58,159 fires occurred in the home resulting in 398 deaths and 12,547 injuries. Many of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented by some basic precautions.''
Homes without smoke alarms suffer 70% of deaths and those with flat or missing batteries suffer 16% of deaths due to domestic fires.
Chip pan fires are still a common cause of fires, as one family in Bristol discovered last year.
On returning home at 4am, Linda Hill decided to do some cooking. Within seconds of starting the cooker, the chip pan was on fire with flames reaching the ceiling.
Hill ran out into the hall and shouted to her husband and 15-year-old son who were asleep upstairs. By the time they came downstairs, Hill was disorientated by the fumes.
She says: ''I couldn't believe how quickly the house filled with smoke, it was so thick you could not see. Norman was shouting to me so I followed his voice and the noise of him banging on the floor.
''It is so important to think about what to do during a fire, because it is easy to become disorientated.''
The Hills had to be treated for smoke inhalation. They made a full recovery but the downstairs of their home was badly damaged.
The Home Office leaflet advises that the best escape route is the normal way in and out of your home, although a second route should also be decided upon.
Everyone should know where the door and window keys are kept. Smoke alarms should be tested every month and the batteries replaced every year. If it persistently goes off, it should be moved, not disconnected.
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