South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
  • In emergencies call 999
  • General enquiries 0114 272 7202

SYFR responds to Independent Cultural Review of London Fire Brigade

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has responded to the Independent Cultural Review of London Fire Brigade.

Chief Fire Officer Chris Kirby, said: “The report makes difficult reading for anyone working in the fire and rescue service. It shouldn’t need saying- but there is absolutely no place for the negative behaviour and attitudes described in the report in any modern workplace, let alone the fire and rescue service.

“We have clear policies in place on bullying, harassment and discrimination and regularly work with staff networks and representative bodies to improve these. We also have a well-established set of staff behaviours which we expect all our people to follow.

“But we must never be complacent. That’s why we will be reviewing the report and its recommendations in detail and looking to implement improvements to our own service where appropriate. We aspire to be a great place to work where everyone can be themselves and will be using the findings of this report to further support our work towards this.”

Amazon voucher up for grabs as part of smoke alarm competition

Fancy an extra surprise gift this Christmas? Here’s your chance!

We are running a competition in which one lucky winner will bag themselves a £100 Amazon UK voucher.

To enter the competition, you must sign up for our smoke alarm testing reminders at pressthebutton.co.uk. This takes around 60 seconds to do.

On Friday 16 December 2022 we will draw a name at random from the list of people who have signed up for our reminders.

We’ll then contact the lucky winner and send across their voucher, just in time for the big day!

Terms and conditions

  1. The competition will close on Friday 16 December at 9am
  2. The competition is exclusively for South Yorkshire residents aged 18 or over
  3. The winner will be chosen at random from the list of numbers and email addresses signed up for the smoke alarm reminders
  4. We will contact the winner by 5pm on Friday 16 December – they will have 72 hours to accept their prize
  5. Should the winner not respond within the allotted time, a new winner will be picked at random
  6. The Amazon voucher – worth £100 only – will be sent via email in digital format
  7. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue takes no responsibility for what is purchased with said voucher
  8. Any issues with the voucher, products or refunds must be handled through Amazon directly

Smoke alarm plea as ‘cost of living’ fires begin to surface

Firefighters across South Yorkshire are urging people to ‘save safely’ this winter and, importantly, ensure they have working carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in their homes.

The plea comes following recent incidents across the county where residents have burned inappropriate and potentially toxic materials to warm their homes, as opposed to using their usual method of heating.

One recent case saw an occupant overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of burning coal, in a tin bucket, in their living room.

And whilst fire officers recognise the financial squeeze that lots of people are currently facing, they are asking residents to not put themselves at risk.

“We know times are tough”

“We know times are tough for lots of people right now, but the pattern we are seeing around unsafe heating in homes is concerning,” said Area Manager Matt Gillatt, head of the joint police and fire community safety department.

“Our ask is that people ensure they save safely, take extra care when it comes to using things like log burners and electric blankets, and please don’t use tin buckets or small gas cylinders to heat your homes – they aren’t safe.

“We would then strongly urge people to ensure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms fitted in their properties. These are life-saving devices that will give you early warning should you be at risk.”

Recent changes to the law mean that anyone in rented or council homes should be provided with a carbon monoxide detector by their landlord.

Meanwhile the fire service in South Yorkshire offers a completely free smoke alarm testing reminder service.

Residents simply have to input a phone number or email address and they will be reminded, each week, to ensure their alarms are working.

This, officers say, could potentially save a life further down the line.

“They really do save lives” 

“Smoke alarms don’t get the credit they deserve – they really do save lives. But they can only save you if they are working,” added Matt.

“By testing and dusting them regularly, you ensure they are working should you ever need them. And don’t just take our word for it, either.

“Our figures show that there have been 791 instances in the last three years where a smoke alarm has sounded and given occupants early warning of a fire in their home.

“Unfortunately, there were 430 cases where smoke alarms weren’t present or didn’t work. Needless to say, the fire damage was worse in these cases.”

You can sign up to the service’s free smoke alarm reminder service at pressthebutton.co.uk – doing so before the end of the year will see you entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon gift voucher.

There is then more information on smoke alarms at www.syfire.gov.uk/smoke-alarms.