London Fire Brigade has been working closely with Hackney’s Vietnamese residents as part of a fire safety project designed to build links with communities across London.
The Brigade’s ‘Fire Community Safety Officers project’ involves 13 community engagement specialists targeting some of London’s many diverse communities with information on how they can protect themselves from fire.
Working alongside the Brigade’s Borough Commander for Hackney, Graham Howgate, Fire Community Safety Officer Fiona Burton has spent time talking to Vietnamese people in the borough and visiting community organisations. This has included Lien Viet Housing Association, the Vietnamese Catholic Church, VLC Community Centre and An Viet Foundation.
The work has been carried out in partnership with Hackney Children and Young People’s Service and the NSPCC and has focused on fire safety issues in the home.
Borough Commander Graham Howgate said: “It is one of our priorities as a fire brigade to prevent fires from occurring in the first place, by making sure all of the capital’s diverse communities have access to information about fire safety
“One of the most important services we offer are free home fire safety visits. Once we’ve made an appointment, local firefighters will visit your home and talk about fire risks. We’ll give you information on how to prevent fire and how to escape if one breaks out in your home. We will also fit free smoke alarms if you need them,
“Thanks to the work we have undertaken with Hackney’s Vietnamese community we have been able to explain how people can protect their homes and businesses from fire and we have carried out a number of home fire safety visits.”
Fire safety advice for local people:
•To arrange a free home fire safety visit please call 08000 28 44 28 quoting ‘Hackney 04’ appointments arranged at a time that suits you. Translation assistance may also be provided where necessary.
•Fit smoke alarms on each level in your home. Keep them free from dust and test them once a week.
•Make a fire escape plan so that everyone in your home knows how to escape if there is a fire. You should involve everyone in the plan, including children.
•Take extra care in the kitchen - accidents while cooking account for over half of fires in homes. Never leave young children alone in the kitchen.
•Make sure cigarettes are stubbed out properly, disposed of carefully and never smoke in bed.
•If you use candles, never leave them unattended or near to items that could catch fire like curtains or furniture.
•Get into the habit of closing doors at night. If you want to keep a child's bedroom door open, close the doors to the lounge and kitchen, it may well help save their life if there is a fire.
Note to editors:
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Members of the media can obtain further information from the press office on:
telephone number: 020 8536 5922
email: press@london-fire.gov.uk
