7ft Smoke Alarm Man hits the streets of Lancashire

Your average Fire Safety Officer he’s not! He’s a seven foot tall, fluffy, friendly yet quiet chap who occasionally gets a little over-excited and beeps himself into a frenzy.

As part of his new role within the organisation, SAM will be looking to engage with the people of Lancashire and continue the fire and rescue service’s campaign to raise awareness about the importance of smoke alarm ownership.

SAM will be out and about in communities across Lancashire, but don’t worry if you miss him. An enthusiastic social media fan, he’s keen to keep in touch with those people he meets (and those he’s not yet) and so will be sending out weekly messages to the people of Lancashire via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue website.

Mr Dave Russel, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The campaign that SAM is heading up is based around the promotion of smoke alarm ownership and maintenance. The latest English housing report suggests around 86% of homes own a working smoke alarm, which is borne out in Lancashire from the evidence we have been getting from our programme of community fire safety prevention work, coupled with a gratifying reduction in the number of accidental dwelling fires in Lancashire.

“In spite of this positive news, data collected within Lancashire from April, 2009, to April, 2012, illustrates that, though there are less accidental dwelling fires than ever before, of the 3,526 that occurred almost a quarter of those homes had no smoke alarm fitted in the property.

“Simply owning a smoke alarm is not enough to prevent a fire, but the early warning it provides enables someone to escape serious injury or death. With the help of SAM we want to remind people to check their smoke alarms and if they haven’t got round to getting a smoke alarm yet, make sure it’s at the top of their shopping list, or booking a Home Fire Safety Check visit from us should become a priority.”

“We understand that fire safety isn’t always at the top of peoples’ lists but with regular reminders from SAM we hope to help change that.”

You can keep up with SAM and what he’s up to and follow him … On Twitter @LancashireFRS, Facebook: Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service or on our Youtube channel LancashireFire.

Home Fire Safety Check visits may be booked, at no charge, on FREEPHONE 0800 1691125.

It is a call that could easily save lives!