On Thursday, 7 April, KFRS will launch its Fight Against Fire mission to fit and test as many smoke alarms as possible in one day, in homes across Kent and Medway. Hundreds of firefighters will be out and about offering the free service, which provides residents with home fire-safety advice tailored to them and their home.
Nearly a quarter of households in Kent and Medway don’t have working smoke alarms,* reducing residents’ chance of escape and increasing the risk of death, injury or property damage.
In a bid to tackle the issue and to help keep everyone across the county safe, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is launching ‘Fight Against Fire’ – its mission to test and install as many smoke alarms as possible in one day.
On Thursday, 7 April, hundreds of uniformed firefighters will hit the streets and knock on as many doors as they can, offering people a free home fire-safety visit. Each visit will take around 10 minutes to complete, during which time the firefighter will test, relocate or install smoke alarms where needed, advise residents what they can do to prevent fires, and answer any questions.
KFRS Chief Executive Ann Millington said: ‘Working smoke alarms really do save lives, and we advise that everyone has at least one installed on every floor of their home. They’re so effective at alerting people before fire has a chance to spread – providing valuable minutes for people to escape safely, call 999, and consequently get our crews there swiftly to limit fire damage and save lives.
‘We are ready and raring to go for our Fight Against Fire challenge on Thursday, 7 April – but we can’t do it alone. So that we can make as many homes as safe as possible in one day, we need residents to answer the door, let us in to carry out the visit, and ask our expert crews any questions they have.
‘As with anything that involves door knocking though, people need to be really aware of who they are letting into their homes. Every single member of our staff will always carry Kent Fire and Rescue Service photo ID and they will happily provide a phone number residents can call if they would like to double check that they work for us.’
What residents can expect
Firefighters door knocking…
- will be carrying Kent Fire and Rescue Service branded photo ID. You can call 0800 923 7000 to verify that they work for the service.
- will be wearing KFRS branded uniform.
- will have a fire engine or KFRS marked vehicle parked nearby.
- will never ask for money or bank details.
- will never carry out a home fire-safety visit without your permission or supervision.
While a firefighter will lead the home fire-safety visit, some may be accompanied by a non-uniformed member of KFRS staff, there to shadow the officer and learn more about home fire safety visits.
Day-to-day visits
While the Fight Against Fire on Thursday, 7 April, is a big push to test and install as many smoke alarms as possible, carrying out home fire-safety visits is an important part of a firefighter’s everyday role when they aren’t responding to emergencies or training. Therefore, residents that don’t get a knock on the door on 7 April may be offered a visit on another day.
KFRS also offers free pre-booked Safe and Well home visits for Kent residents over 70, people with a long-term health condition, smokers, families with children under five, and expectant mothers. Call the team on 0800 923 7000 to find out more and book.
*23% of domestic property fires KFRS attended in 2020-2021 didn’t have working smoke alarms – from KFRS’ incident recording system data.
