Home safety in winter

With temperatures starting to drop, it is only normal for us to make sure our homes are warm and cosy. Cold weather thickens blood and increases blood pressure, and breathing in cold air can increase the risk of chest infections, so it’s all the more important to ensure your home and the homes of people you look out for are the right temperature. However, winter is also a time where fire safety can be overlooked, therefore we want to remind you of some simple tips to keep your home safe this winter.

Having a smoke detector installed by Progress Lifeline can provide increased reassurance by not only sensing smoke in the home and raising an audible alarm, but also raising a call to our 24/7 alarm response centre, so that you will be connected to one of our helpful team members who will be able to assess the situation, make sure you are safe and well, followed by sourcing the necessary help required.

A carbon monoxide alarm is useful for anyone with gas and/or solid fuel appliances in their home. Carbon monoxide alarms can detect if fuel-burning appliances emit too much carbon monoxide. It protects people in their home from the harmful effects of carbon monoxide, reduces risks from using gas and solid fuel appliances, and provides automatic, audible CO2 detection alerts to our alarm response centre.

There a number of precautions you can take to make your home as safe as possible:

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heaters and open fires
• Beware of lit candles. Although candles can set the mood for a relaxing and calming evening, they can be easily knocked over. Only light candles when you are alert and able to watch them, blowing them out whenever you intend to leave the room
• Do not use your oven to try and heat your home
• Ash from a fire can produce harmful levels of CO2 so you should never leave the ash in a bucket inside your home, always empty old ash outside
• Make sure you are using the right type of fuel for fuel-burning space heaters
• Remember to switch portable heaters off when leaving the room for prolonged periods
• Invest in a fire screen for your fireplace, this will prevent sparks from flying across the room
• If you are using a tumble dryer to dry clothes, make sure you clean the filters regularly and never leave the house with it on
• Never use hot water bottles in the same bed as an electric blanket, even if the blanket is switched off
• Make sure you have a chimney sweep to keep your chimney in good working condition

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, we can also connect these alarms to a flashing beacon, DDA wrist pager or a bed shaker to wake you in the night.

If you are interested in adding one of the sensors or alarms mentioned above to your Progress Lifeline service, then please emails us at lifeline@progressgroup.org.uk or call us on 03333 204 999.