6 Fire Safety Tips When Enjoying the Great Outdoors

As lockdown continues to ease and we head toward the longer and warmer days of spring and summer we look forward to spending more time outside. While it’s great to spend time in the garden if you have one, you can’t beat time spent in the great outdoors. If you are planning to enjoy the countryside, either alone or with family and friends this year please take on board our tips for fire safety. Careless behaviour can result in accidental fires that put pressure on the fire service, especially during spells of dry weather. Each year fires can be responsible for the destruction of acres and acres of countryside. Here is our advice on steps you can take to avoid the risk of inadvertently causing a fire in the countryside:

1. Don’t leave glass bottles lying on the ground. You might be surprised to learn that sunlight shining through the bottle can start a fire that can quickly spread.
2. Be sure to talk to children and teenagers about the dangers of starting fires outside and ensure that matches and lighters are kept out of reach at all times.
3. Never leave your rubbish lying around. Please find a suitable bin or take it home with you.
4. Don’t throw cigarettes out of car windows.
5. Don’t light barbecues or open fires in the countryside. There is a risk they will set fire to the ground nearby and spread, possible long after you have left the scene.
6. Make sure that cigarettes are put out properly and disposed of in the appropriate bin.

If you ever come across a fire in the countryside the advice from the fire service is not to try to tackle it yourself, but the call the fire service straight away. As mentioned in one of our previous blogs the What 3 Words app is a great tool that can help identify your exact location in case of emergency and would be really helpful in identifying the exact site of the fire for the emergency services. Fires in the countryside put lives at risk. They endanger the lives of people staying, walking or living in the local area and potentially the lives of fire fighters who may need to tackle them. In addition, when fire-fighting resources are directed to dealing with fires in the countryside, it takes that important resource away from being able to respond to other emergencies. It’s also worth remembering that as well as vegetation and trees being destroyed, wildfires can also have a devastating impact on wildlife. From birds and their nests to wild animals including deer, squirrels, rabbits and all kinds of insects. We hope that these tips ensure that you are able to enjoy everything that the countryside has to offer safely this year. Remember, your aim is to leave the area you are visiting exactly as you found it, or as the saying goes “Take only memories, leave only footprints”. We are experienced fire safety professionals, if you need any further help or advice please get in touch.