On Thursday 20th February, Primary 5 had a visit from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. We listened carefully to the Firefighters as they explained how to stay safe at home if there was a fire emergency. We learned about 4 different areas of possible fires in our homes. The first was candles. We should always keep candles or tealights away from flammable surfaces or textiles, e.g. curtains, televisions or bathtubs, never leave lit candles unattended and to use a proper holder. Next, we learned about safe charging of electronic devices. We should never charge items on our bed as cushions, bedding and pillows are flammable. We should also not plug too many electrical items into one socket as this can cause overheating. Finally, we should remember to switch off chargers overnight. We then talked about having a planned escape route if there was ever an emergency in our homes. It is really important to have a night-time check – making sure we extinguish candles and cigarettes, switch off electrical items and close all doors before going to bed. This will reduce the risk of fire and smoke spread and protect your escape routes. Last but not least, we talked about smoke alarms. We know now that Smoke alarms should be tested weekly and we should consider additional smoke alarms if we don’t have enough in our house. The Fire Service even said they would provide free Smoke Alarms as they feel so strongly about their importance! It was a very informative and interesting visit and before they left they gave us each a Fire Safety kit that we could take home and use!