Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is helping residents celebrate the festive season safely this year, through its safety social media advent calendar.
Christmas celebrations will be different this year for many of our residents, but celebrating safely is just as important as ever.
Gail Muirhead, West Hub Prevention Manager, said: “This year has been challenging for many of our residents, and many will want to celebrate with family or friends in line with COVID-19 measures. We want to encourage you to make sure safety is still your top priority. Take extra care with decorations and candles, and make sure any electrical items you buy have a British or European safety mark.
“Our team will be continuing to respond to incidents as normal over the festive period, but you can help them too in these challenging times by following our safety advice, which will help reduce the chance of an incident.”
Follow our top festive safety tips:
- Make sure you use LED lights wherever possible. If you are going to use candles, please keep them away from any decorations or Christmas trees.
- Always make sure your fairy lights are switched off before going to bed.
- If you’re cooking up a Christmas Day feast, make sure you avoid drinking before you cook.
- If you’re driving to see friends or family in line with COVID-19 measures, take extra care on the roads, particularly in cold or wet weather.
- If you’re buying electrical goods to give to friends or family, make sure they’re certified with a British or European safety mark.
Throughout December, we’ll be sharing safety tips over our Twitter account to help keep residents safe. These will cover a wide range of topics, from road safety to defibrillators, and will feature videos of members of our teams across the Service using #RBFRSChristmasCountdown. This will be paired with a display at Crowthorne Community Fire Station, which residents will be able to view while following COVID-19 measures, featuring artwork from the local community to fit with the theme of each day’s safety message.
As part of our Christmas campaign, we’re also encouraging residents to take extra care while driving during the festive period. Road safety displays will feature at Wokingham Road Fire Station and Crowthorne Community Fire Station, which will also be able to be seen by residents, as a reminder that it’s not worth the risk – if you’ve been drinking, don’t drive home. Find more road safety advice on our Road Safety page.
We wish all our residents a safe and happy Christmas.