Fires and protecting your home contents and belongings
The Diamond Insurance Scheme is a specialist home contents insurance scheme that's offered to members by SFHA in conjunction with Thistle Insurance Services Limited.
By Diamond Insurance Scheme
We hope that you will never suffer a fire or smoke damage, but these things do happen and that is why your landlord suggests all tenants and residents take out home contents insurance, either through the special Diamond Insurance scheme or by making your own arrangements.
Please remember, you are responsible for replacing your home contents and belongings. Contents insurance is designed to help protect your possessions and personal belongings. It’s a good idea to consider what a home contents insurance policy would cover you for in order to help you make an informed decision on whether you need one.
Here’s some safety tips and advice to prevent a fire in your home:
Make sure that you have a working smoke alarm on each floor of your property – if a fire does start, this will give you a chance to get out safely and call 999 for help.(It is your responsibility to regularly clean and test your smoke/carbon monoxide alarms).
Make sure to clean all cooking surfaces regularly. Leftover food and grease can become a common ignition source for a kitchen fire. Don’t focus exclusively on the stovetop and oven, though. Make sure to empty the crumb tray on a toaster and to wipe down the microwave as well.
Don’t overload electrical adaptors by plugging too many appliances into one socket, especially those with a high electrical current rating such as kettles, irons and heaters.
If you are using a portable heater to keep warm, keep it away from flammable materials like papers, curtains and furniture and never use one to dry your clothes. Turn off any electrical appliances that you are not using, particularly at night, when a fire can quickly spread unnoticed and cause more danger and damage.
Hand-held electrical appliances, such as hair dryers and straighteners, get very hot in normal use. Make sure that when you have finished using them, you switch them off, unplug them and put them away, preferably storing hair straighteners and similar beauty products in heat-proof pouches.
Never leave candles burning unattended and be sure to set them on a heat-resistance surface away from upholstery, linens and curtains.
Don’t smoke in bed or near upholstered furniture, curtains and fabrics can quickly catch fire from stray ash.
Chip pan fires and what you should do?
- Turn off the heat under the pan (if it’s safe to do so) and allow it to cool completely
- Don’t move the pan
- Never throw water over it - the effects can be devastating
- Don’t use a fire extinguisher on a pan of oil - the force of the extinguisher can spread the fire
- Don’t tackle the fire yourself - leave the room, close the door, get everyone out of your home and call 999.
To find out more about the Diamond Insurance scheme, designed for tenants in social housing in Scotland, please contact URIS Group on 0345 671 8172 or ask your landlord for an application pack.