Do you run or manage a business?

Are you aware of your fire safety responsibilities?

Take our fire safety quiz below to test your knowledge.

We’ve just launched a brand new cooking fire safety campaign. Why? Because we’ve had 4,000 cooking related incidents over the last four years, and we want to reduce that.

We’re asking people to #StandByTheirPan as, according to our research, most of the cooking fires we attend involve some sort of distraction or carelessness.

As part of the campaign we’ve created the below safety quiz. We’ve got £100 worth of Amazon vouchers up for grabs. We estimate it will take two minutes to complete – what are you waiting for?

This isn’t the only way you can get involved in our campaign, neither. We’re inviting children to design us a cooking fire safety poster. The winners stand to win a LEGO fire station set. You can download the entry form here. 

People across South Yorkshire are being urged to stand by their pans as part of a new safety campaign that aims to drive down cooking fires.

This comes as South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue reveals it has attended over 1,000 cooking related incidents in the last four years – with cooking being a leading cause of accidental house fire.

The latest campaign, which will be running across Christmas and into the New Year, urges people to resist the temptation to leave the room and get distracted whilst cooking.

It is being launched today, Friday 22 November, with the help of pupils at Mosborough Primary School in Sheffield – who have starred in a brand new flagship campaign video.

“We know that cooking is the leading cause of house fire in South Yorkshire. That is a fact and is something we want to change,” said Area Manager Simon Dunker, head of the joint police and fire community safety department.

“It was responsible for half of all accidental house fires last year. Many of these incidents could have been prevented by taking some really simple steps.

“We’re not asking a lot, as we know people lead busy lives, but literally standing by your pan can reduce the chance you’re going to have a kitchen fire.

“In turn, that reduces the chances that you, or the kids, are going to get hurt. Or, as a more common outcome, that you are going to have to fork out thousands of pounds for a new kitchen.”

Firefighters are offering three key bits of advice as part of the campaign:

• Never leave the room whilst you are cooking food
• Keep your oven clean and don’t leave stuff on top, or inside
• Test your smoke alarms!

As part of the planning process, the service analysed a random selection of cooking fires from across South Yorkshire.

Out of those looked at, over half involved food being left on too long and forgotten about. A smoke logged kitchen, and damaged equipment, was the most common outcome.

Other causes involved stuff being left on top of the hob, dirty ovens or chip pans.

Station Manager Nick Abbott has been recognised for life saving cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) he delivered to a heart attack victim in Sheffield.

Nick was off-duty and training at a gym in the city before Christmas last year when a man in his 40s went into cardiac arrest.

He delivered CPR until paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service arrived on the scene.

Paramedics said Nick’s quick thinking contributed to the man going on to make a full recovery.

Nick was presented with a letter from the Chief Fire Officer thanking him for his efforts.

Fire officers are calling on Sheffield students to familiarise themselves with evacuation procedures, after a blaze involving student accommodation in Bolton.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has already written to universities asking them to consider any implications from the fire, which saw around 200 residents evacuated from The Cube.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps, said: “It’s too early to tell what caused the fire in Bolton to spread in the way that it did or what materials were involved in the construction of the building.

“Even so, it’s a timely reminder for students and accommodation providers to understand the evacuation strategies for their buildings and make sure they follow them, every time an alarm goes off.”

The fire service is reminding students to:

• Ensure you understand the fire procedures and evacuation strategy for your building
• Always follow the fire evacuation plan in the event that the alarm is raised
• Minimise ‘false alarms’, which can undermine other residents confidence in the alarm system

“False alarms- both accidental and malicious- are a fact of life for many students. But a large number of false alarms can lead to residents ignoring fire alarms when they do go off, which clearly puts them at greater risk in the event that the alarm is genuine,” said Steve.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority (SYFRA) has appointed a new Chief Fire Officer.

Alex Johnson was appointed following a selection process which included a written application and panel interview with members of the Fire Authority.

Alex joined South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue as Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2017, before being promoted to Deputy Chief Fire Officer. She’d previously served with Derbyshire Fire & Rescue for more than 25 years, having joined as a firefighter in 1992.

Fire Authority Chair Cllr Robert Taylor, said: “Alex is an outstanding candidate who has demonstrated to Fire Authority members her commitment to building a successful, inclusive and positive culture at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue.

“In addition to her obvious talent in managing and developing people, she also has a firm operational background – which has been admirably demonstrated recently through her command of the fire service’s response to the widespread flooding which has hit our region.”

Alex will take over the role in January, when the current Chief Fire Officer James Courtney QFSM retires. James joined South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue in 2006 and has been Chief Fire Officer since 2011.

“Fire Authority members would like to thank James for the experience and leadership he has demonstrated in the role of Chief Fire Officer over the last eight years and wish him all the best for a long and happy retirement,” said Robert.

Alex said: “I inherit a successful organisation full of brilliant, talented people who are proud of the part they play in making South Yorkshire safer and stronger. Leading this organisation is the honour of a lifetime and I will do all I can to make the service a brilliant place to work, which delivers outstanding results for the communities we serve.”

The fire service is changing the way it responds to automatic fire alarms in some types of commercial premises.

What do I need to know?

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue will no longer automatically mobilise fire engines to automatic fire alarms in some types of commercial premises from 6 January 2020.

Currently we automatically send fire engines to premises the moment a fire alarm goes off and the signal is passed, by a receiving centre, onto 999 control operators.

Instead, we will only mobilise fire engines if we receive a call to confirm there is definitely a fire.

Why is this change being implemented?

About 97% of the automatic fire alarms the service attended in business premises in the last three years turned out to be false alarms. Fire crews wasted more than 1,000 hours investigating the cause of those false alarms- time which could have been better spent training, working in the community or being available to attend other, genuine incidents.

The change also brings South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue in line with the position of many other fire and rescue services nationally and that of the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Which premises will this apply to?

The change will affect:

• Offices
• Shops
• Industrial buildings
• Public buildings like libraries or museums
• Places of worship

Which premises does this not apply to?

Premises unaffected by the change are:

• Domestic properties with fire / smoke alarms
• Other sleeping risk premises – including hospitals, sheltered housing, care or homes, houses of multiple occupation, flats, high-rise tower blocks, hotels, bedsits, boarding schools, colleges, universities or halls of residence
• Schools
• Heritage sites
• Large industrial sites, covered by COMAH legislation
• National critical infrastructure.
• Shops with homes or sleeping accommodation above/below

As a business owner, what do I need to do?

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it’s the responsibility of businesses to ensure their alarm systems are checked regularly and maintained properly, to eliminate false alarms and make sure the alarm operates as it should do in the event of a genuine emergency. You will find more information here about automatic fire alarm systems and reducing unwanted fire signals.

In particular, business owners are advised to review their Emergency Plan to ensure that in the event of an alarm activation the following areas are considered:

• During the normal working day a procedure should be in place for staff in the building to liaise with the Alarm Receiving Centre and confirm whether the Fire and Rescue Service need to be called in the event of a fire alarm activation
• Outside of normal working hours contact details for nominated persons should be available to the Alarm Receiving Centre so that a responsible person can be called to attend the premises and determined the nature of the incident prior to the Fire and Rescue Service being called

The responsible person should contact their Alarm Receiving Centre as soon as possible to ensure they are aware of these new arrangements.

Doncaster Council have released further information for Doncaster residents. Please see their update below:

“There are six severe flood warnings remain in place for Fishlake, Barnby Dun, Kirk Sandall, Kirk Bramwith, Sounth Bramwith & Bentley Rise. This means there is a risk to life in these areas. The Environment Agency expect these warnings to stay in place for at least 24 hours.

For those of you who live in Fishlake – we have set up a dedicated rest centre in Stainforth today to offer advice, guidance and support, to find out more call our public information line on 01302 735688.

The Environment Agency advise that they do not expect flood waters to start to go down for at least the next 24 hours in Fishlake, we expect that it will be at least 48 hours until you can return to your homes, if not longer.

Residents who are unable to stay with family or friends can still access the rest centre which will be operational for as long as is needed.

Fishlake residents have been advised to evacuate, if you are still in Fishlake call 01302 735688 so we can organise evacuation immediately by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue. We can only offer dedicated support to people who are not in an area where there is a threat to life.

Bentley Rise residents (inc. Yarbrough Terrace, Hunt Lane, Frank Road, Riviera Mount, Riviera Parade & Willow Bridge) our communities staff are on the ground providing information, advice & guidance. We continue to work to Environment Agency guidance that this is a severe risk area.

Residents from other evacuated areas are advised to call our dedicated public information line for further updates on when they may be able to return home 01302 735688.”

@MyDoncaster on Twitter for more.