Fire officers in Sheffield are asking local students not to cook while drunk in winter and, instead, help keep fire engines free for more serious emergencies.
The plea follows the Government’s recent announcement that pubs must now close at 10 pm, which firefighters feel could prompt an increase in home drinking, cooking, and parties.
increase in callouts
They say that this, in turn, could lead to an increase in callouts to student accommodation across the city, something South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is keen to prevent.
“We recognize how important it is that students enjoy their time at university, especially with what’s going on in the world right now, but we want to make sure they do it safely,” said Station Manager - John Billings, who heads up the team at Central fire station.
Cooking while drunk
Time and time again we are called to fires that have started when people have left the oven on"
John Billings adds, “Something we’re very mindful of is that, with pubs closing earlier to help stop the spread of COVID-19, students may be inclined to take the party back to their accommodation. We’ve no problem with this."
He continues, “Where we may have a problem, however, is if people start to act carelessly. From our perspective, this can be extremely dangerous. Time and time again we are called to fires that have started when people have left the oven on and forgotten, or fallen asleep, due to alcohol or drugs."
false alarms reasons
John Billings further said, “We’ve also attended lots of false alarms in the past where students have set fire alarms off for fun, or e-cigarettes and smoking have triggered smoke detection systems. Alcohol has been known to play a part in many of these cases, too.”
Service tips
To reduce the risk to students, and to prevent an increase in calls, the service is asking them to do three things:
- Get a takeaway rather than cooking drunk.
- Be mindful of smoke alarms when vaping or smoking.
- Do not use fire alarm call points unless there is a genuine emergency.
These requests, which officers feel are reasonable, come ahead of a national Student Safety Week in October that SYFR has pledged to support.
Keep safe
“We think what we’re asking is fair and simple, we’re not trying to spoil anyone’s fun and don’t believe what we’re asking will have a huge impact on any big nights in,” said John Billings, adding “What it will do, though, is keep people safe, prevent our crews from having to crash any parties, and stop accommodation from being damaged or destroyed by fire.”
