Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) have joined forces with the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Community Pharmacy South Central to launch a safety campaign around the fire risks of emollients. Emollients are creams, sprays and lotions that may contain paraffin or other products like butters and oils. Both paraffin and non-paraffin emollients can act as an accelerant when absorbed into clothing and exposed to naked flames or other heat sources. The joint awareness campaign has been developed following a series of national and local tragedies, many of which were sadly fatal. The hope is that by educating members of the public about the increased fire risks and the actions they can take to reduce these, further tragedies of this kind can be prevented in the future. Campaign resources including posters and postcards have been sent to pharmacies and GP surgeries throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for them to share with members of the public to help raise awareness of the potential fire risks within the local community.
Reduce the risks for yourself or someone you know:
- Never smoke in bed
- Be cautious when smoking
- Take care when cooking with gas or electric hobs
- Do not sit too close to any open fires, gas fires or halogen heaters
- Wash your clothing and bedding daily at the highest temperature recommended. Although this will lower your risk, washing fabrics does not completely remove all fire risks.
Laura Cane-Andrews, HIWFRS Safeguarding Lead, says:
“Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the fire risks associated with emollient creams, so the hope is that through this joint campaign with the ICB and Community Pharmacy South Central, we can help to raise awareness of the potential dangers and how to reduce these risks. “As pharmacies and GP surgeries usually prescribe or sell emollient products, their involvement provided an ideal way to reach emollient users, so we are very grateful to them for their support with this campaign as well as our health partners.”
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Neil Hardy, Chief Pharmacist at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, has said:
“We were really pleased to partner with the fire service and offer our support for this important message to help inform our patients and prevent any potential future tragedies.”
Find out more about the fire risks of emollients at https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/safety/home-safe-home/fire-hazards-in-and-around-your-home/emollients-safety/.
Wash bedding daily? Pfft
Do these fire brigade people think that we are thick.?
Also if they want to instruct us to ‘wash our clothing and bedding daily at the highest temperature recommended’ then they can come around and do it for us because most of us do not have the time or the energy. They can also pay our electricity bill plus the water bill too. Its OK for them because they get free water to wash their cars with.
Honestly you just couldn’t make this up.