London Fire Brigade is encouraging Londoners to take two minutes out of their day to complete the Brigade’s online Home Fire Safety Checker (HFSC).
The HFSC is a simple online quiz that guides you around your home and identifies any potential fire risks in just over two minutes. It allows you to self-assess any fire risks and provides tailored advice on how to put them right.
It is a very quick process, that could be done during the commercial break of your favourite TV show, while you wait for the kettle to boil or while you reheat your leftovers in the microwave.
The free online tool asks a series of questions about your home and the occupants to determine if there are any immediate risks, or if there is anyone vulnerable living at the property who might need more assistance. Once completed, it provides you with an action plan containing advice on ways you can improve fire safety within your home.
The HFSC allows the Brigade to focus resources on those most at risk. If the HFSC identifies a person as being ‘very high risk’ they will receive a visit from firefighters within four hours.
The beginning of December is the perfect time to check your home and fix any fire risks – take the quiz before you get the Christmas decorations out and cover any existing risks in tinsel. Then take it again and check your home twice to make sure you haven’t overloaded your sockets with Christmas lights or placed candles too close to flammable materials.
There are many hidden fire risks around the home, in the last four years, nearly a third of all fires attended by the Brigade occurred in residential properties. So far in 2025 (up to 25 November), firefighters have attended 4,554 residential fires – nearly 14 a day.
The Brigade launched the HFSC in July 2023 and since then, 31,285 people have completed it. Worryingly, 21,757 people admitted to leaving cooking unattended. Since 2022, over a third (34%) of all fires at a residential dwelling were cooking related. For the last four years, the three most common causes of a fire at a residential property were cooking, smoking and electrical.
Assistant Commissioner for Prevention & Protection, Pamela Oparaocha, said: “Firefighters have attended nearly 14 residential fires each day this year. By completing the HFSC you could identify fire risks in your home and prevent a fire from starting.
“Homes have many hidden fire risks and our online checker allows you to quickly walk around your home and identify any that may have gone unnoticed. The action plan is tailored to each individual based on your responses, it offers guidance on simple steps you can take to better protect your home.
“One of the best ways of protecting your home is to ensure you have working smoke alarms and heat alarms. With cooking consistently being one of the top three causes of residential fires, fitting a heat alarm in your kitchen could save your life.
“Include the Home Fire Safety Checker on your Christmas ‘to-do’ list, it only takes two minutes – stretch your legs in the commercials and walk round your home. Spending two minutes checking you and your loved ones are safe is better than any gift you could give.”
Don’t forget to check on elderly or vulnerable family members or neighbours who might not be able to complete the HFSC themselves. If you provide care for someone, make sure you check their home too using the HFSC.
Between 2023 – 2024. it was estimated that around 5.4 million people across the UK were providing informal care to another person*. Next time you visit and make them a cup of tea, complete the HFSC while the kettle boils and check for any potential fire risks.