DERBYSHIRE: Fire service safety scheme backed by councils

The fire service originally agreed to provide £200,000 funding towards fitting sprinklers in authority-run homes with shares of £20,000 going to each compliant council or housing authority willing to match-fund the donation.

Local Authorities who have committed to the scheme include Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, NE Derbyshire District and Rykneld Homes, Bolsover District, High Peak and High Peak Community Housing, Amber Valley and Futures Homescape. Others include Derby City and Derby Homes, Erewash and Three Valleys Housing, and South Derbyshire District Council.

Due to the success of the project, a further £200,000.00 has been set aside by DFRA for the project in 2013/14.

A fire service spokesman said: “This is a fantastic partnership that ensures we continue to reduce the impact of fire on our communities and reduce the costs associated with death, injuries and refurbishment by installing domestic sprinklers and portable misting systems.”

DFRA explained it will continue to work closely with authorities to ensure the benefits of domestic sprinkler systems are passed on to all those with a responsibility for providing, developing, or building new homes.

County fire service group manager Steve Helps also announced the release of a heart-wrenching publicity video warning residents to check their smoke alarms when they change their clocks on March 31.

In the video, a young boy explores the burnt-out shell of his former home and asks you to make a life-saving promise this Easter – to keep your loved ones

safe from fire.

A fire service spokesman said: “A working smoke alarm can buy you and your family the valuable time you need to get out, stay out and call 999. But you’re more than four times as likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a working alarm.”

As families come together over Easter, the fire service is urging people to check smoke alarms at elderly relatives homes by pushing the test button and checking batteries because over half the people who died in house fires last year were over 65-years-old, according to the fire service.