Fire Kills - you can prevent it

Fire safety is just as important outdoors as it is in your home. Don’t light open fires in the countryside and never throw cigarette ends out of car windows. Stay safe and protect our natural heritage!

Barbecuing

Everyone enjoys a good barbecue, but by taking a few important steps you can prevent fires when arranging one. For example, always keep a bucket of water, sand or a garden hose nearby. Other precautions you can take include never lighting a barbecue indoors or leaving it unattended.

Caravanning and camping

Fire safety doesn’t stop when you leave your home. Holidays in caravans or tents carry their own fire risks, so it’s important that you are aware of basic fire safety precautions.

• ensure your caravan or tent is at least six metres apart and away from parked cars
• always keep a torch and spare batteries handy for emergencies
• store flammable liquids (such as petrol and gas cylinders) outside and away from children
• make sure you are aware of the campsite’s fire safety arrangements and check where the nearest telephone is
• take a note of local landmarks (such as a farm or pub) or keep a map reference handy, so that you can give the fire brigade your exact location, in the event of a fire

For lots more useful advice and important tips on additional fire safety precautions outdoors from the Fire Kills campaign on Directgov, follow the links below.

• Fire safety outdoors (PDF, 650k)
• Barbecues and camping

Boating

Fires on boats are not as common as fires on land. However, if you are on a boat you will need to stay alert and take care as fires spread more quickly on water. The following tips will help you stay safe and avoid the risk of fire afloat. You should:

• fit and maintain a smoke alarm, optical alarms are best for boats –think carefully where you fit it so they can wake people up
• take care to ventilate the cabin to reduce the build up of poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide, and the risk of fumes igniting
• check and maintain your fuel, gas and electrical systems on your boat regularly
• not allow oil or debris to build up in the bilges
• always keep track of your position or location so you can tell the emergency services where you are – just in case
• keep extinguishers and blankets within easy reach, close to exits and high risk areas, such as the galley or the engine
• in the event of fire, move everyone off the boat immediately – if you are offshore, notify the Coastguard by radio, make a Mayday call, or display a distress signal

• Boating Fire Safety section on Directgov
• Go Boating, stay safe avoiding fire afloat (PDF, 340k)