Home insurance - tips & advice - safety in the home

Fire safety is paramount in your home, but during the summer you also add extra risks with barbecues and garden fires. Here’s how to avoid putting yourself in danger, and get some peace of mind with adequate home insurance, so that you can get on and enjoy your time outdoors.

Unfortunately accidents do happen in the garden as they do in the home, and this can be especially true when dealing with garden fires used to destroy garden waste or social occasions such as family barbecues. For example, according to a government report, in 1998 in the UK there were more than 1,000 accidents caused by barbecues that required medical treatment, and as the trend for spending more time and entertaining in our gardens has increased, so this figure has continued to grow.

So what can we do to keep fire casualties in the garden down? Not by banning barbecues of course – they’re far too much fun – or by putting an end to garden fires, but by being more careful about how we organise and supervise them. Here’s how:

Barbecues

According to the London Fire Brigade at www.london-fire.gov.uk: “Barbecues can get out of control if you are not careful. By following a few simple fire safety rules you can enjoy a safe barbecue and prevent accidental fires.” These rules include:

• Make sure your barbecue is placed on level ground where it will not tip over
• Keep barbecues away from the house, sheds, fences, garden furniture and overhanging trees or shrubs – don’t put them where people have to squeeze past
• Only use approved barbecue fuel or fire lighters – never petrol or paraffin
• Keep children and garden games well away from the cooking area
• Never leave a barbecue unattended
• Watch out when you are cooking fatty foods – lots of fat spilling onto the coals could make them flare
• Make sure the barbecue is cool before you try to move it
• Empty spent ash on to bare garden soil – never put it in the dustbin where it could smoulder
• Make sure the controls and the cylinder valve are turned off before you change the cylinder
• Change the cylinder in the open air if you can – otherwise open doors and windows for ventilation
• If you think there might be a leak in the gas cylinder connections or pipe, brush soapy water over all of the joints and watch out for bubbles. If you find a leaky joint, try to tighten it but don't over-tighten it
• When you have finished cooking, turn off the gas cylinder before the barbecue controls. This makes sure any leftover gas in the pipe is used up. Also, store your gas cylinders outside and protect from frost and direct sunlight. Don't keep more spare cylinders than you need.

Bonfires

The London Fire Brigade also has some great advice for keeping garden bonfires under control – another activity that can soar during the summer months and, of course, around Bonfire Night in November. To stay safe with garden fires, they suggest:

• Don't light fires if it's windy as they can easily get out of control
• Build your bonfire well clear of buildings, garden sheds, fences and hedges
• Never use flammable liquids to start the fire, and never burn dangerous rubbish such as aerosol cans, paint tins, foam furniture or batteries
• Keep a bucket of water or a hosepipe handy in case you need it
• Before you light the bonfire, check that there are no children or animals hiding inside and that they are a safe distance away
• Don't leave bonfires unattended. An adult should supervise it until everything has been burnt. If the bonfire has to be left, damp it down with water.

If something does go wrong…

If an accident should happen – a fire gets out of control in your garden and threatens to damage your property, or someone gets hurt by flames from a barbecue, for example – then you should call the appropriate emergency services such as ambulance or fire brigade immediately.

If you have Direct Line home insurance you could also make a claim if part of your property or contents are damaged. With buildings insurance you get cover up to £1,000,000 for the cost of rebuilding your home as standard – and this includes fire damage to the structure of outdoor areas such as outbuildings, walls, fences and gates. With contents insurance we provide new-for-old cover for household goods including belongings in the home, garages and sheds. We also cover for items in the garden up to the value of £1,000, although this does not include plants. So if fire destroys your garden furniture or your fence, for example, and you have buildings and contents cover, we could replace them.

To get immediate peace of mind and find out how much you could be saving on our home insurance, apply for a home insurance quote today. Apply online and you we could also give you an instant discount.