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Everybody is frightened of fire. Or they ought to be. Imagine the horror of being trapped in a building or, even worse, on a boat at sea with a fire raging out of control. There have been many films made about it and I am sure that everyone has had occasion to think about what it would be like.

However, how many of us have sufficient fire safety equipment at home, in the garage, in the car or in the office? Could you lay your hands on the necessary fire safety equipment at a moment’s notice? Or do you know where it is (or ought to be), yet are not certain how to use it?

The purpose of this piece is to get people to check up on their fire safety equipment and their fire drill. If your company has not practiced a fire drill in some time, remind your employer. If that is you, you are almost certainly breaking the law and if your family does not know where the fire safety equipment is (or how to use it), then you might as well not have bothered buying it in the first place.

The first thing you ought to do is take measures to prevent fires spreading, if they break out. If you live in a street of terraced houses, make certain that there is a fire wall in the attic or roof space to prevent or slow fires spreading to or from your neighbours.

Likewise, take precautions to prevent or slow fires spreading from room to room within your own home. For example, the door to the kitchen could be on a closer, so that it is always closed. The doors should be at least half-hour fire-check, not flimsy cardboard things that will burn down in seconds.

If your garage adjoins the house, you ought to have a half-hour fire-check door on a closer there too and fit intumescent strips to the door to seal it off should it get hot. You can use intumescent strips on the kitchen door too.

Once your home is as secure as it can get, that is, you can contain a fire, you want to know that you will not sleep through it, so you will require smoke detectors/alarms. These are very sensitive, so putting one in the kitchen is not much use, especially if you are not much of a chef.

It is better to put smoke detectors in the hall outside the kitchen and at the top of the stairs. If you would like the best system, get them all wired in series and to the mains with battery back up. That way, if one is triggered, they all go off, the wires cannot be burned through disabling the alarm and the batteries cannot expire leaving you vulnerable.

Once you know that you have a fire, you need to know where your fire safety equipment is and how to use it. First, you should have a couple of fire extinguishers. You must have at least three: one in the kitchen, one in the garage and one in the car, but one on the landing and one in the hall is a very good idea too.

Be aware that not all fire extinguishers are designed to put out the same kinds of fire, so please take advice and read the labels. If you have extinguishers among your fire safety equipment, make certain that the refill is not out-of-date and they do require servicing, if you want them to be effective on demand.

Fire blankets are also helpful in putting out fires and for protecting yourself from the searing heat, if you have to make a dash through the flames to get outside and safety goggles are a fantastic idea at this time, one which many people wish they had thought of before.

This list is not exhaustive, so enquire of for further knowledge from your local fire department.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is now involved with Oakley safety glasses. If you would like to know more, please visit our site at Safety Glasses Bifocal