So this weekend whilst I was being made a full English breakfast I quickly checked my emails and Facebook account and noticed that the BBC News section mentioned a fire in Dorset.

Now a very good friend of mine (Hannah Southby nee Tigwell) recently moved to Dorset, to Blandford, with her lovely husband Tim - or Pingu as he is affectionately known, they are often to be spotted down at Moors Valley Railway for those of you in the area - so say hello from me. Anyway, being the nosey breed of female I am I decided to read on and see if these two have had a lovers tiff resulting in a full on blazing row - gettit?! Ok maybe not.

Right, returning to the story at hand, it turns out a family in Poole actually had a very lucky escape. They got woken up by their little daughter crying and coughing, to discover a full blown fire raging in their home. As it is with a lot of homes they hadnt bothered with smoke alarms, and luckily managed live to tell the tale.

Seriously I dont get how people think smoke alarms are an extra not an essential part of home security.

Ok, rant now over, I promise. Now for those of you who are fitting or looking at smoke alarms for your home (and Hannah you better be fitting some in your new house and my new room!) Here is a list and a quick break down of which smoke alarms go where.

Battery alarms - tend to be ionisation alarms and are the most common variety - pick up on smoke – these alarms are a good all rounder for the home and can go anywhere.

Mains alarms - have more choice of alarm type and you dont have to worry about changing or testing the battery. Mains alarms come in three types they are as follows.

Ionisation - which detect smoke and are the most common of alarm. Heat - only really used for kitchen or somewhere so dusty an ionisation alarm goes off all the time. And finally optical – which are photo electric or to put it simply sees flames, these are ideal for hallways, bedrooms (but be careful of candles) and offices.

Also it is worth noting that they shouldnt be put near a shower room or bath room as alarm will keep going off and the steam will eventually ruin the alarm.

Obviously here at Fire Protection Online we sell a wide range of Kidde smoke alarms, so please with Christmas coming up with all those fairy lights, candles, cooking turkeys and hair straighteners left on, please make sure you have enough smoke alarms for your home and that they all work.

Some local fire brigades will even come round to advise you and fit some for free.

So think it over, have a glass of mulled wine and happy shopping.

Now I know there is nothing worse than a sore loser, but lets be honest a sore winner isnt too much fun either. So bearing this in mind, it is with dignity and humble reserve I would like to announce that our website recently won Kents best website award, as hosted by IceLab

Yes thats right Fire Protection Online won an award for Kents best website and I very luckily got to go and collect the award with a fellow colleague Martina – seen here accepting the award and certificate – and we got to meet other online businesses based in Kent, it was interesting to see the variety and of online stores originating in my neck of the woods!

I know Jason is just as chuffed as I am that people, who aren’t necessarily our customers, realised how special the company and website is and how hard we work to make it customer friendly.

However, despite all this trumpet blowing I would like to say a massive big, heart felt thank you to all of you guys and gals who voted for us.

We were able to see some of the public votes and their comments and honestly hand on heart reading customers comments, who went and willingly did this in their own time is just a great feeling. So thank you, for choosing us as your favourite website and for taking the time to vote, really you made the difference.

So now the pressure is on all of us here at FireProtectionOnline to ensure we win next year too and to offer all of you the best possible website and service.

My nose is now firmly to the grind stone - happy shopping.

To some people, fire extinguishers are like Christmas presents under the tree; you know you shouldn't open them early, but you just can't resist tearing off a corner… Of course, the dilemma is fire extinguishers need to be easily at hand to be useful, and that makes them just as easy to misuse.

Back in July, a policeman sustained nasty head injuries when attending a burglary in Kent, when the offenders hit him over the head with a fire extinguisher.

In September, a newsagent's shop in Surrey was filled with powder when a fire extinguisher was let off in his shop - at 5.30am. Not a life-threatening incident, we admit, but the resulting mess clogged up the poor man's stock, shop and business for several days.

And in a Londonderry court in October, one defendant showed his displeasure at his sentence by spraying the judge and the prosecutor with a water fire extinguisher. (Quite how he managed to grab it and do this while in police custody is being investigated!)

So, I asked Jason (our fire extinguisher guru) what he would recommend to deter incorrect use of fire extinguishers. As ever, he came up with a great little phrase: Clip, Cover, Cradle!

1. CLIP on an anti-tamper tag around the safety pin extinguisher handle, and you'll know if anyone has used it. If the pin is pulled, the seal snaps, and can't be reused. Colour-coding helps you identify when the extinguisher was last checked. (Jason also says you can use these to secure prezzies to the Xmas tree, but we think that's going a little far…)
2. COVER your fire extinguisher in a tough fire extinguisher cover. These tough covers keep extinguishers clean from dust, spills and splashes, and also deter inquisitive fingers. Easy to remove in an emergency, it's what the well-dressed extinguisher is wearing this season!
3. CRADLE your fire extinguisher. Well, not quite literally, but make sure they are secure by using a fire extinguisher stand. Fire Protection Online have a wide range of stands, from unmissable bright red durable plastic stands, to elegant curved metal stands for your designer chrome fire extinguishers.
4. Save CASH! With Fire Protection Online, you can save up to 39% off RRP with our fire extinguisher stands.

So that's more cash to spend on my Christmas present, Jason, right?

So, its time for me to indulge myself and write this blog post about a bit of my personal life.

A while ago I attend my friend’s baby's christening- Lily Maxwell, who was getting her head dunked in holy water and we were all there to celebrate. ( There being St Georges Church)

After a few drinks, (which are necessary to wet the baby’s head),and exchanging of gifts, I went home and started thinking about the responsibilities Sarah faces as a mother.

I mean don’t get me wrong I see myself as a fairly responsible adult (apart from that time I had a couple of babycham’s) but the responsibility Sarah faces is huge. To constantly monitor and look out for these vulnerable creatures keeping them safe and then being supportive, guiding them and at times having discipline them to help them on their journey through life. Gosh now that’s pressure!!

So being the slightest of geeks since working for Fire Protection Online, I started thinking about home and fire safety in relation to children, and the steps parents take or should take to ensure their child is safe at all times in the home.

So after a few hours spent searching on the internet I was shocked to find a vast amount of wealth on this subject, and yet people still seem ignorant to.

I found it particularly shocking that 46% of fatal accidents that happen in the home effecting children is purely down to house fire. Can you imagine just under half of fatalities in the home for children are fire based?

I just never thought that could happen in the UK and not to such a frequency, I found via ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention Of Accidents) a really interesting page about child safety in the home covering all things from child gates to burning hazards and the statistics of the accidents in relation to the age and sex of the child. There was so much to think about – I struggle to make it through the day remembering what I need from the local supermarket let alone how to make my home safe against little ones!

I found that even the government provide pages on child safety - especially in relation to fires, they provide a page on the importance of smoke alarms, (despite it not being a legal requirement for all houses in the UK to have alarms fitted it is strongly recommend that they are).

I don't think I ever really took on board how much of a risk fire in the home can be, I know that sounds daft but when you talk about the products all day long, you kind of forget that these tragedies do occur and that’s what the products are designed to hep prevent.

The effects fire and fire related accidents can have on a home is heart rendering, let alone seeing charities such as the child’s fire and burn trust, who are dedicated to helping child victims of fire, especially those to young to know or comprehend why they have been burnt.

Coming across all of this information really made me think twice about some things I take for granted.

And in case you were wondering Sarah thankfully had thought of all the possibilities and had been out and bought a number of bits for the home including a carbon monoxide and smoke alarms and a fire blanket.

You never know for Christmas she maybe getting a fire extinguisher and burns kit from yours truly as a secret Santa, now wont that just make her year!

The fatal bus fire in Germany on Wednesday which claimed the lives of 20 elderly passengers and injured 12 others was caused by one person's sheer selfishness and lack of control. And it wasn't the driver.

One passenger decided to ignore other people's safety, to defy legislation, and to endanger their life too. They smoked in the toilet. According to the Hanover traffic manager Uwe Hollstein, flames must have emerged from the toilet "at lightening speed", engulfing the coach within a matter of moments. The coach driver managed to pull off the A2 Autobahn onto the hard shoulder, but by that stage, the blaze was too far advanced for him to extinguish.

The son of the coach firm owner said, "Someone was smoking secretly in the toilet and that's what started the fire. It happens."

Well, in my book, it shouldn't, simple as that. No doubt the police will be investigating the presence (or not) of smoke detectors in the coach toilet, and the provision of fire extinguishers and fire hammers on board. In England, the law is very clear. "Public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person must be smokefree at all times."

Vehicle fires can take hold very rapidly, so it makes sense to provide the best protection for you and your passengers, whether family, friends or colleagues. Fire Protection Online's range of car fire extinguishers are ideal for use in cars and vans, and we also have a selection of fire extinguishers transport brackets for trucks, coaches and lorries.

So, here's a quick check list of items you should have in your car:

• a 1kg powder car fire extinguisher, secured by a bracket to stop it rolling around
• a vehicle first aid bag
• a life hammer mounted somewhere within easy reach, to aid escape from cars by cutting stuck seat belts and smashing toughened glass windows
• we also recommend a Flaresafe torch, ideal for safety during night-time breakdowns too

Always remember to only tackle a vehicle fire that you can extinguish with a single extinguisher. If in any doubt, immediately move well away from your vehicle to a safe distance, and call the Fire Brigade.

photo of burnt out truck by peeyush at flickr.com

Chaps and Chapette's we have a new product - Calm yourselves I know its exciting stuff!

Some of you may have seen in the newsletter that Jason announced the new Dorgard range.

Well I thought I would give it another shout out in the virtual world since we've had quite a few calls on them!

So what is a Dorgard? - Put simply it’s a very, very clever door wedge.

This little beauty can prop open the fire doors by its useful little rubber foot - and can be released by a knob on the top - ok so maybe that’s not sensational to you, but this will be.

 If the door has been left open, using a Dorgard, and the fire alarm happens to go off -the Dorgard will hear the alarm and lift its little foot enabling the door to close - which will slow down the oncoming fire! How clever is that! 

And for those of you who are worried about being caught in a room were the Dorgard has enabled the door to close, you can just use the door as normal!

Now all they have to do is invent one that speaks and says how lovely my shoes are or how pretty I look and we will be well away!

Happy shopping!

Living on the edge of London, autumn half term always meant three things to me:

1. Families lost on the Underground and stopping at the top of every escalator (which is part of life),
2. Fireworks,
3. Lots more fireworks.

On certain years, it would be two weeks solid fireworks, from the first bang of Diwali to the last damp squib of Bonfire Night. The evening air reeked of gunpowder for nights on end. The local dog population went hoarse from barking, and the cats hid away for safety. It was like living in a Battle of the Somme recreation, only without the rats. (They were hiding too.)

Ask any Australian in Britain what they think, and they'll be astounded it even happens; private sales of fireworks in Australia have been banned for years in most states. Public firework displays in Oz are amazing; have you noticed how the Sydney New Year display is always the best? Why can't Britain have the sense and courage to do the same?

Britain has a national obsession with fireworks, which hit new heights/lows for me when I walked into my local mega supermarket this week. Out front, before you even got into the veg section, was a vast cabinet of fireworks emblazoned with a special offer; "Two for the price of one". That's large boxes of potentially dangerous explosives, sold in bulk buys like digestive biscuits or cat food.

Yes, I know that all fireworks sold should conform to BS 7114:1988, and only sold to over 18s. Yes, I know fireworks can be safe when handled responsibly, but when you've had youths firing rockets down your street at each other, they don't seem so safe anymore. (Since it's against the law for under 18s to carry fireworks in public, it's not only dangerous but illegal too.) If you still are in doubt about the ethics of fireworks on general sale, ask a medic or a fireman.

In England in 2006, almost 70 people were injured by fireworks, with 42% of injuries to the hands and an alarming 21% to the face, neck or head. Now the real nasty statistics; 70% of those injured were under 18 and 97% were male. (Yes, 97%.)

So, 70% of those injured could not have legally bought the fireworks that hurt them. More worryingly, according to the 2005 statistics, (the last set produced by the DTI before it became BERR and stopped collecting data), over 50% of the accidents happened at a family party, and over 25% in the street.

My safety suggestion is simply this; forget home firework displays and go to a public firework display instead. By all means have a home bonfire party or a Halloween bash - we've got excellent articles on Halloween fire safety and bonfire safety on our main Fire Protection Online website. BUT, please, do the A&E departments of the UK a favour this year, and boycott any bangers that are not of the edible sausage variety!

Kirsty

photo of fireworks display over Sydney Opera House by Sotha Bourn

In East Lothian on Monday, the answer was eight…

Fudgie the hamster escaped from her cage when being looked after by a friend whilst her owners were on holiday. Hamster-minder Angela Appleby woke up on Monday morning to discover that her friend's furry pet had escaped, probably squeezing behind the units in the kitchen.

She remarked on the problem at work to her manager, whose fiancé is in the fire service, and before you could say "Spin my wheel and pass the sunflower seeds", two fire engines arrived outside her home to retrieve the rodent.

After taking the family gas cooker and pipes apart trying to find the hamster, the crews from the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue tried to tempt out Fudgie with a chocolate-covered camera placed under the floorboards. When that didn't success, they then tried to suck the hamster out using a vacuum cleaner covered with a sock. When suction power didn't succeed either, the fire crews finally handed the case over to the Scottish SPCA.

Fudgie is still at large. While Fire Protection Online does not sell a Hamster Retrieval Kit, we does sell some other neat kit that might have been useful in the search for Fudgie, such as our powerful FlareSafe torch, and a shiny new plastic fire bucket to transport her safely back to her cage!

photo by Steve_C at Flickr.com

We've just had the most glorious October weekend on record, so how did I spend my Sunday morning? Selling half the unwanted contents of my garage at a car boot sale!

Of course, a car boot sale on Sunday meant that I had spent all Saturday sorting said junk from valued possessions in the garage. Unbelievably, I found yet another fire extinguisher left by the previous owner. I had already inherited three full-sized red fire extinguishers - all of them empty - and here was another little blue fire extinguisher (not a UK standard colour) with a very worn label. Time for a Saturday morning trip to the local council Civic Amenity Site (aka dump).

Old fire extinguishers are potentially dangerous objects, and must be disposed of properly. My local council have a special cage at the amenity site, where old extinguishers are safely locked away, ready for a specialist company to collect.

The company first decompress the extinguisher if required, and the extinguisher's headcaps, tubes, valves and cartridges are recycled if safe, or scrapped if not. Any extinguisher contents are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly fashion, again recycling any clean, reusable contents. Finally the fire extinguisher body is examined, and if not suitable for reuse, it is scrapped either by punching a hole in it or cutting the whole cylinder in half.

Fire Protection Online only sell brand new fire extinguishers, not refurbished models. All our fire extinguishers are top quality branded extinguisher and come with with a full money-back guarantee, something you won't find at a car boot sale

Kirsty

photo by net_efekt at flickr.com

I have one of those annoying friends who, given half a chance and a full pint, will claim that "Everything is cheaper on Ebay". After a particularly vociferous discussion over several packets of cheese and onion at my local, (the Dog and Fire Extinguisher), I decided to put his theory to the test.

I chose one of Fire Protection Online's best sellers, our Thomas Glover branded new 2kg CO2 fire extinguisher at £28.97, plus £8.97 delivery and VAT. This neat fire extinguisher package includes a wall bracket, and is delivered next day if ordered by 2pm.

Next, I log onto Ebay.co.uk and enter the search term: "CO2 fire extinguisher" (which Ebay insists on incorrectly reformatting as "Co2", thanks for that).

What first alerts me to potential problems is that lots of extinguishers are listed with "Full" as a major selling point. Obviously, some unscrupulous sellers must have been selling half-empty units. OK, I'm forewarned…

Now for the top listings (as of last Tuesday night, 10pm)

2kg CO2 fire extinguisher £15.00 plus £8.95 delivery Looks a good price until I see the words "refilled 2008". So, it's a reconditioned unit. The sellers say it's in good condition, but how will I know until it actually arrives? No guarantees with it, either. I'll pass on that one - my staff are too precious to risk their lives with a reconditioned extinguisher. Next…

New 2kg Co2 Fire Extinguisher Manufactured & Kitemarked to BS EN3 £27.50 plus £8.95 p&p OK, this looks more promising, but who actually manufactures it it, as I've got scant details and no brand name? Could be OK, but also could be a cheap import - the picture is surprisingly fuzzy and it's difficult to see detail. Also, 48 hour delivery, not true next day like FPO. OK price, but not enough product detail for me. I move on.

2Kg Co2 Fire Extinguisher Brand new in box, complete with service label and ready to use, and manufactured in UK. £24.00 plus £9.95 p&p Looks good, even if I haven't actually heard of the brand, until I see the seller’s shop is also offering… pink children's wallclocks! I'm sorry, but I can't take a vendor of fire safety equipment seriously if they also sell kid's clocks, especially pink ones! Our Jason at FPO would have a fit…

I carry on for a page or so, until I lose the will to live. It seems every listing has a drawback: money-back guarantees that don't include the original delivery costs (unlike Fire Protection Online), no freephone helpline number (unlike FPO) and certainly no Low Price Guarantee (unlike FPO…).

By the time I've checked dozens of fire extinguishers for sale on Ebay, I've realised that for quality branded extinguishers, decent delivery times, money-back guarantees , variety of payment options and low prices, no seller holds a candle to FPO. I've also wasted over an hour of my time on a fruitless search.

So, save yourself time, money and a wasted argument in the pub, and buy your fire extinguishers from Fire Prevention Online. As for my friend, the crisps are on him next time…

Kirsty

photo of ebay sign by liewcf at flickr.com