THE BIG INTERVIEW FEATURES
Fired up about safety
By Stewart McRobert W
hen it comes to electrical safety in the home, overloading is Scotland’s most common fire risk. That’s the
experience of firefighters who undertake thousands of free Home Fire Safety Visits across the country every year. The warning comes from David Dourley, Head of Fire Investigation at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). He said: “Overloading of electrical outlets is the issue that we see most in homes. “Often, householders have a block
adapter with a TV, satellite/cable box and DVD player plugged into it. In turn, that adapter is daisy chained on to another that feeds other devices. We are working hard to educate people about the dangers that set-up poses.”
Firefighters are able to gather this information, and details of other potential fire risks, thanks to the Home Fire Safety Visit programme, a free service that SFRS runs across Scotland. “We have a comprehensive programme where we try to identify the most vulnerable and most at-risk people,” said David. “We provide them with a free Home Fire Safety Visit where, among other things, we look at lifestyle factors, the ways people can exit their home in an emergency and potential ignition sources.” A thorough list of items is checked
over during the visit, including cooking appliances, consumer units, leads and
16 CABLEtalk OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
Te Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is one of SELECT’s most important partners. Here, the organisation’s Head of Fire Investigations, David Dourley, tells CABLEtalk about some of the essential work they carry out
sockets. David added: “We give people advice on how to calculate overloading and, where it’s necessary, we recommend replacing items that present a potential hazard to them.”
Workmanship The good news from an electrical contractor’s point of view is that David and his colleagues rarely see poor workmanship during the visits, and they’re active in making sure that remains the case. He said: “We’re part of several working groups that help to highlight the risks
SETTING THE STANDARD
New safety standards on fire and smoke detectors come into effect during 2021. Following the tragic
Grenfell Tower fire, the Scottish Government set up a ministerial working group to review Scotland’s building and fire safety regulations. Now, new
standards have been laid out for people’s homes. Tey require: ●● one smoke alarm in the room most frequently used for daytime living ●●one smoke alarm in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings
●●one heat alarm in every kitchen. All alarms should
be ceiling mounted and interlinked. Carbon monoxide
detectors should also be fitted where there is a carbon-fuelled appliance (such as boilers, fires, heaters and stoves) or a flue.
posed by people who are not properly qualified to carry out electrical work. “That approach feeds into our Home Fire Safety Visits. We advise people to make sure anyone they employ is fully qualified to carry out electrical work.” The Service’s
responsibilities are not limited to domestic advice; its remit also includes auditing the fire precautions in place at commercial
premises. “We review the processes and procedures for risk assessment, electrical
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