Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have door-knocked more than 60 homes at Macquarie Fields, in Sydney’s south-west, in the wake of a devastating house fire in the neighbourhood.
On 28 May, 10 people made a narrow and very lucky escape when their two-storey house in Groundsel Avenue went up in flames.
FRNSW had installed working smoke alarms in the home just a few days earlier, allowing the mother and her nine children to safely evacuate upon hearing the alert.
Alarm testing and provision
The safety visits included smoke alarm testing and where necessary, alarm provision and installation
This week, crews from St Andrews and Macquarie Fields Fire Stations have visited homes in the surrounding streets, encouraging residents to ‘Be Fire Safe’ this winter.
The safety visits included smoke alarm testing and where necessary, alarm provision and installation, free of charge.
FRNSW Duty Commander, Dean Emery, said he hopes the home fire safety blitz will safeguard residents in the south-west. “Home Fire Safety Visits give us an opportunity to check on our communities first-hand, and to ensure they are better protected from fire,” Inspector Emery said.
Home Fire Safety Visits
“We essentially come to your home, conduct a safety check and offer advice on things like smoke alarms, the use of power boards, as well as safe charging of lithium-ion powered devices,” Inspector Emery continued.
“These are all things that carry fire risk, so we want to empower residents and give them peace of mind. The recent house fire is a prime example of just how important it is to have a working smoke alarm.”
“We can’t smell smoke when we are sleeping, so a smoke alarm is the only thing that will alert you if there is a fire.” Already this winter, four people have died in residential house fires in NSW. There have been 105 such blazes in the fortnight of winter.
