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Save Safely

Save Safely

Fires cost. At best it’s smoke damage and a new appliance, at worst it’s your house or even your life. Here are our best tips to save money while staying safe at the same time. 

The cost of living is rising and people are…

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Summer Safety

Summer Safety

Summer is a busy period for our fire service so we're giving our best advice to help prevent incidents and help everyone to stay safe this summer.  

Our fire service usually sees a rise in wildfires in the summer and…

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Welcome to our new website. We welcome your feedback.

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Thatched house with thatched garage. A grass verge separates the property from the road.

Thatched Properties

A thatched roof is always at risk from fire. When a fire takes hold of a thatched property the damage is devastating.

The most common causes of fires in a thatched buildings are electrical faults, lightning affecting the television aerial, stray sparks from the chimneys, discarded cigarettes and garden bonfires. 

Do you live in a thatched property?

  • It's important to insulate the chimney flue to prevent the heat from transferring into the thatch layer. This is especially important when a solid fuel or wood burner is installed as they burn at higher temperatures than conventional open fires
  • Make sure you have your chimney swept regularly by a qualified chimney sweep. A chimney in regular use should be swept twice a year
  • Avoid burning softwoods which can cause a build-up in your chimney
  • Have your chimney inspected by a qualified chimney engineer
  • If you have a spark arrestor fitted, make sure you clean it regularly. This should be done every three months on chimneys in regular use and the arrestor should be taken down to clean
  • Fit a bird guard to deter birds from building nests in chimneys
  • Develop a fire plan for your home
  • Make sure you have smoke alarms installed throughout your home. If you have a loft space, an interlinked smoke alarm should be installed which is linked to at least one other within your home
  • Take extra care when using blowtorches or heat guns (if plumbing or painting etc.)
File attachment
Prevention Guide

This document is designed to be filled in and kept in a safe place so that firefighters have access to all of the information they need about your property. In the event of a fire in your home, this information will help them to tackle the fire quickly and efficiently.

951.21kB
File attachment
Thatched Property Safety Guide

A useful guide for anyone living in a thatched property. This information pack contains advice on how to prevent a fire from occurring in your home. We recommend you keep this with the Prevention Guide and pass all documents to the new owners in the event you move house.

12.87MB

Download our Safety Guides to stay safe

We're encouraging anyone living in a thatched property to download our Thatched Property Safety Guide and Prevention Guide.

This information will help you to prevent a fire in your home and provide firefighters with all the information they need to know in the event of a fire.

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Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters

Kelvedon Park
Rivenhall
Witham
Essex
CM8 3HB

Emergencies: 999

HQ Tel: 01376 576000 HQ

Tel: 0300 3035555

Fax: 01376 570466

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