London Fire Brigade issue fire safety warning as millions work from home

London Fire Brigade firefighters are issuing urgent #StayHomeStaySafe advice as millions of people enter their first full week of working from home amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

The majority of city office workers have now stopped commuting following Government advice to avoid all but essential travel in a bid to try and contain the spread of Covid-19.

With the increased numbers of people at home during the day, London Fire Brigade is warning of the potential for more fires as people adapt their daily routines and others are in isolation and calling for people to think, take action and avoid becoming a further casualty for the NHS.

Firefighters are usually called to a larger number of domestic fires between 6pm and 8pm and there has traditionally been an increase in cooking fires during the weekend when people are at home for longer periods of time.

However in 2020, we are seeing an increase in weekday fires and fires earlier in the day, so firefighters are warning that common causes of fires in the home such as cooking, smoking, electrical items and heating sources could become even more prevalent as people are spending more time indoors than usual.

The Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Dan Daly, said: “It’s absolutely vital that in these uncertain and unprecedented times people don’t forget about basic fire safety in the home.

“We are not trying to scaremonger, but clearly with increased numbers of people indoors for much longer periods of time, there is a heightened risk of fire.

“This is about keeping you and your loved ones safe and we must all do what we can to not inadvertently add pressure to our already challenged NHS.

“There are such simple things we can all do to ensure we are keeping safe while we are all spending more time at home. The first thing you can do is to test that your smoke alarms are working.”