A recent fire on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island engulfed much of his property, razing his beloved family home to the ground. Thought to be ignited by a lightening strike during a tropical storm in the night, the blaze soon took strong hold of the predominately wooden building.
Branson has praised the actions of his 20-plus guests who acted swiftly and helped each other to escape the fire, particularly Kate Winslet who carried his 90-year old mother to safety.
Typically seeing the positive in such a terrible situation, Sir Richard is quoted as saying:
‘At the end of the day, what you realise is that all that matters is the people you love. Everything else is just stuff. And none of that stuff matters.’
We couldn’t agree more. Whether, like the Bransons, you’ve been a victim of a freak lightening bolt or perhaps an electrical or kitchen fire – the main thing to remember is to get everyone in danger to safety. Understandably, many material items hold a great deal of sentimental value, let alone monetary value, but there are steps you can take to protect your home and the items you cherish.
Smoke Detectors
Ensure your home is fitted with working smoke detectors – these will save your life in an emergency. Notification as early as possible about a fire will give you time to gather your wits, make sure you and your family evacuate the building and call 999.
Safe Appliances
You can also regularly check that electrical appliances in your home are working properly and have gas appliances like boilers, stoves and fires serviced by a qualified engineer.
Fire Extinguishers
We would also recommend that you have a lightweight fire extinguisher in your home and a fire blanket. These are great for quickly putting out small fires, for example in the kitchen, but if at any time you do not feel confident to attack the fire – call the fire service.
Common Sense
Don’t leave candles or other burning items like cigarettes unattended. Always make sure items like these are fully extinguished before you leave the room or go to bed.
Insurance
Adequate contents insurance will allow you to replace many items in your home like-for-like if they are destroyed in a fire. New technologies like the Cloud means formerly irreplaceable items like photographs can now be stored online to be accessed from anywhere in the world. This technology can also be applied to music and film collections – services like Dropbox allow you to keep a backup of your computer hard-drive in real-time.
Discount Fire Supplies sell a range of fire alarms, fire alarm accessories and much more. Browse our online shop or contact us for a quote today.
