Safety

It’s Gas Safety Week! Find out how to stay safe in your home with these top tips:

• Only use a Gas Safe registered engineer to fit, fix and service your appliances. You can find and check an engineer at GasSafeRegister.co.uk (check out our graphic below) or call 0800 408 5500.
• Check both sides of your engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card. Make sure they are qualified for the work you need doing. You can find this information on the back of the card.
• Have all your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year. If you rent your home ask for a copy of the landlord’s current Gas Safety Record.
• Know the six signs of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning – headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness. Unsafe gas appliances can put you at risk of CO poisoning, gas leaks, fires and explosions.
• Check gas appliances for warning signs that they are not working properly e.g. lazy yellow flames instead of crisp blue ones, black marks or stains on or around the appliance and too much condensation in the room.
• Fit an audible carbon monoxide alarm. This will alert you if there is carbon monoxide in your home.

Helping emergency services find missing vulnerable people FAST

A potentially life-saving form could help police and search teams find vulnerable missing people quicker.

The ‘At Risk of Going Missing’ form provides quick, detailed information about a person’s background and history to help police to identify priority areas to search, often speeding up the time taken to find them, particularly if the person is living with dementia.

In support of Dementia Action Week which runs from 21 to 27 May, Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR), in collaboration with Kent Police, Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS), and the National Police Air Service, have produced a video that shows how a completed form can help partners work together to quickly find a missing person when they have detailed information about a person’s habits and interests.

Every year, Kent Police receives approximately 10,000 missing person reports and an increasing number of these are for people living with dementia.

The form, which is handed out by all agencies, allows police, Kent Search and Rescue and Kent Fire and Rescue Service to gather as much useful information as possible. It gives an indication of someone’s mobility, preferred mode of travelling, routes frequented, general health issues and significant places they are likely to gravitate towards. This form enables all this information to be documented in advance.

Completed forms are kept in a safe place by families or carers so they can be found quickly if the person is reported missing. They are also stored on police systems, meaning officers have easy access to the information when needed most.

Phil Morris, Community officer at Kent Search and Rescue said: “We have produced this video message in support of Dementia Action Week in the hope that it will help people understand how important a completed “At Risk” form can be and, in doing do so, encourage more families to fill in the form if they are caring for someone who is living with dementia, or who may go missing for another reason.

Please don’t wait until the person goes missing. Download the form from the Kent Police, KSAR or KFRS website(s) and fill it in today! The information that you record in the form may give us the one important clue that we need to help find your missing loved-one…when every second counts.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jo Shiner said: “Our aim is to make sure that if people living with dementia become lost or go missing that we can do our best to return them home as quickly as possible so they don’t come to any harm.

“By filling in this form officers can gather as much information as possible, as quickly as possible so would encourage anyone who lives with someone with dementia to fill in the form.  It could save a life.”

Chris Colgan, Assistant Director Response & Training at Kent Fire and Rescue Service, and a member of the KSAR board of trustees, said: “Keeping safe is important for us all, however it can become difficult to maintain safety if you or someone you know is living with dementia, particularly if living alone. This form is a really useful tool, and can help us and partner agencies to find a missing person with dementia more quickly, reducing the chance of someone getting into harm’s way, and even saving a life.”

Watch the ‘At Risk of Going Missing Video’ https://vimeo.com/268997659

Kent Fire and Rescue Service   21 May 2018
(Issued jointly with Kent Police, Kent Search and Rescue and National Police Air Service)
www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/news-releases/may-2018/helping-emergency-services-find-missing-vulnerable-people-fast/

Ashford firefighters are warning residents about the risks of leaving bonfires unattended, following a callout to Ashford where a fire spread to a house.

Crews were called to reports of a fence alight in a garden Arcon Road. When they arrived they discovered that an unattended bonfire has spread to a garden gate, as well as the PVC window frames and guttering of a semi-detached bungalow.

Crews used a hose reel to contain the fire and prevent it spreading to the roof of the building, and drag rakes to expose hotspots in a heap of burning rubbish.

Ashford watch manager Mark Scott said: “Crews managed to bring this fire under control and minimise the damage to the house, but a few minutes more and we would have been facing a much larger incident.

“Our advice would be to find other, more environmentally friendly, ways of disposing of rubbish, such as taking it to your local recycling centre. If you do have a bonfire, make sure it is built well away from fences, buildings, trees and garden sheds, that it’s kept to a manageable size and that it’s not left unattended. An adult should supervise it until it has burnt out. If it has to be left, damp it down with water.”

There were no reported injuries.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service  20 March 2018
www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/incidents/?entryid2=15482

‘Don’t try to be a hero during the cold weather’ – that’s the advice of 44-year-old Dani Michaels, who dialled 999 after her friend Jenny entered a frozen lake in Ashford, in an attempt to save their dogs.

The friends were out walking their Labrador and Alsatian-cross this morning when the excitable dogs ventured onto a lake that had iced over, known locally as ‘the moat’, behind Tool Station in Hall Avenue, Ashford.

In a matter of seconds, the weight of the dogs caused the ice to break, plunging them into the freezing water. The friends desperately searched for a way to reach them, but suddenly Jenny decided to get into the water.

Dani, from Willesborough, said: “I was on the other side of the lake looking for a way to get closer to the dogs, and then I saw Jenny get in – I was so shocked and started shouting.

“Her emotions and love for the dogs just took over, but it was not the right thing to do.

“I dialled 999 as soon as I spotted her in the water. A passer-by helped me to direct emergency services to the lake from the road – and for that I am very thankful.”

Fortunately, Jenny and the dogs managed to scramble out of the frozen lake without assistance before rescue services arrived, and she was looked after by paramedics from SECAmb. But not everyone is as lucky, and on average there are around 50 drowning tragedies each year in the UK.

Dani said: “My advice to anyone who finds themselves in this sort of situation is, don’t try to be a hero and end up putting yourself at risk – call the emergency services. Dogs are much more likely to get out of the water unharmed than we are.”

Following this near miss, Kent Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to be careful around water, and especially frozen lakes in the current weather conditions.

Group Manager for Community Safety at KFRS, Leanne McMahon said: “Dani’s words are spot on, please don’t try to be a hero in this weather, please always call 999. If you’re getting into unknown waters, especially if the water has turned to ice, it’s hard to see the hidden dangers and sometimes it’s not as safe as you might think.”

Leanne added: “The water is often deeper than it looks and when it’s very cold like it is presently, this can quickly cause cramp and breathing difficulties known as cold water shock, which can lead to tragic circumstances. Many rivers and lakes can also contain hidden rubbish and debris such as shopping trolleys and broken glass which can cause injuries, and often the water can be polluted which can affect your health.”

In today’s incident, Jenny entered the water to try to save the dogs, but that’s not advisable. Here are some top tips when it comes to dogs and water:

• Never enter the water to try and save a dog – dogs are usually much stronger swimmers than we are, and often a dog will manage to find its way out of water on its own.
• Avoid throwing sticks or balls near water for dogs – they will go after it if they think you want it back even if you’ve thrown it too far or into dangerous water.
• Even dogs that like swimming can usually only swim for short bursts – keep an eye of your dog and don’t let it enter the water if it’s older or tired.
• If your dog loves the water make sure you have control and keep it on a lead to prevent it jumping into hazardous or unsafe areas.
• Remember the wet riverbanks, steep edges or jagged rocks can make it hard for a dog to get out of water, and it can be a slip risk for owners.
• Don’t lean into water and try and lift your dog out – you could topple in.
• If your dog has struggled in the water it may have inhaled water and should see a vet, as dogs can drown after the event if water has entered the lungs.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service  28 February 2018
www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/news-releases/february-2018/lucky-escape-for-woman-who-entered-frozen-lake-to-save-dogs/