Free smoke alarms offered in drive to make homes safe

May 27, 2022

Deniliquin Fire and Rescue NSW deputy captain Glenn Carr is encouraging Deniliquin residents to take part in free home fire safety checks. Photo by Bryanna Rossow

Deniliquin firefighters are doing free fire safety checks on Deniliquin homes in the lead-up to winter, including offering free smoke alarms to those who need them.

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Deniliquin Fire and Rescue NSW deputy captain Glenn Carr said brigade members were doing the free home safety visits to ensure residents were being as safe as possible.

As part of the visits, the brigade will fit new smoke alarms, or replace old ones, where needed.

Both the smoke alarms and the fitting of them will be free.

The smoke alarms offered have 10-year lithium batteries, which means the batteries are good for 10 years and do not have to be replaced every year.

“We’re still finding homes that don’t have smoke alarms, or that only have one,” he said.

“If you are unlucky enough to have something catch on fire in your home, smoke alarms are the best thing for you,” Mr Carr said.

“We’re doing a big push on them in Deni.”

Mr Carr said the smoke alarms were not the only things firefighters would be speaking to residents about during the check.

“Coming up to winter we see an increase in fires involving homes,” he said.

“It’s not just house fires, but other fires around the home.”

He said firefighters would also speak to residents about wood fires and issues such as whether they had had the chimney cleaned in the lead-up to winter.

Lint filters in clothes dryers were also other things people should look at during this time of year.

“Coming into winter, no-one has used the dryer for a while and the lint filter might not have been cleaned,” Mr Carr said.

He also warned that overloading powerpoints and circuit boards could lead to fires starting.

Mr Carr said last year there were more than 350 house fires in NSW that were started by electrical faults.

He is hoping these free safety checks will help reduce that number.

“I think everybody can benefit from a home safety visit,” he said.

Mr Carr is hoping people will not only register their own homes for checks, but also others, particularly if they are aged over 65, live alone or have mobility issues.

To book a free home safety visit, go to www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=9316 and hit the ‘book now’ tab.

If you are unable to do it online, you can also call Mr Carr on 0407 787 146.