An innovative online tool to help people identify fire hazards at home has been launched by London Fire Brigade. The Home Fire Safety Checker allows people to receive tailored advice based on their building and guides Londoners around the rooms of their home to help them identify any risks and hazards.

The tool is the latest innovation developed by the Brigade as it tries to make people living in one of the world’s most complex and diverse cities safe. 

In 2018, the Brigade was the first fire service in the UK to begin using fire escape hoods, which were used successfully at the recent New Providence Wharf fire and new ways of fighting fires in high-rise buildings have also been introduced.

The launch of the checker comes days after concerning images of the blaze at New Providence Wharf were circulated across social media. Firefighters hope that doing an online fire safety check could help residents worried about safety in their flat.

In addition, they also want to reassure residents that procedures for how high-rise fires are responded to made a significant difference to how the recent fire was resolved.

These include:

• the increased number of resources and firefighters sent to all high-rise fires as standard;
• new procedures on how information is relayed from Control Officers to the incident ground and back, including vital details about fire survival guidance calls;
• and the introduction of fire escape hoods which were used to rescue 22 people from the fire.

The Home Fire Safety Checker is another measure which the Brigade has introduced to encourage people to do all they can to identify fire hazards at home as well as what to do in the event of an emergency.

After reports emerged of residents purchasing rope ladders to carry out their own escapes and many instances of residents ignoring their buildings’ evacuation plans following the New Providence Wharf fire, the Brigade is warning people that they could be putting themselves at more risk by taking drastic measures and is encouraging them to use the checker to familiarise themselves with their home.

The Brigade wants to focus as many of its in-person Home Fire Safety Visits on vulnerable people and the online checker is an easy to use tool for everybody. It will signpost people to book an in-person visit if any significant risks are raised.

The Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner, Richard Mills, said: “We completely understand that people have seen concerning images recently, but this is a message to all Londoners – have faith in us. In London, in the past year a fire engine has been at the scene of a fire, on average, within five minutes.

“If you are living in a building with flammable cladding please make sure you familiarise yourself with what action you should take in the event of a fire. In the majority of high-rise and purpose-built blocks of flats in London, as long as they are properly maintained, you are usually safer to stay in your flat unless you are being directly affected by smoke or fire.

“To further reassure people, we are pleased to launch the Home Fire Safety Checker which has been developed by the Brigade using a collaborative approach with both internal departments and external stakeholders, including people who have received in-person Home Fire Safety Visits.

“This checker isn’t just about clicking boxes – we hope it will really make people think about the potential fire hazards in each room of their home and feel like they have taken action to make them and their families as safe as they can be.”

• Home Fire Safety Visits were introduced in a bid to prevent accidental fire deaths and injuries in the home as well as to reduce the number of fires occurring
• Since they were launched in London in April 2005, more than a million visits have been carried out and staff have given advice to more than 2.5 million people
• The Brigade has installed more than 938,000 smoke alarms and more almost 28,000 pieces of specialist equipment such as alarms for deaf or hard of hearing people