2:09pm Thursday 18th March 2010
A SCHEME to reduce fire deaths across the county has been launched after four elderly people died in blazes over the last 18months.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has set up the fire safety campaign which will run over the next four weeks.
It targets elderly and vulnerable people after a recent spate of fire deaths in North Yorkshire.
A fire service spokesman said: "The service felt the need to respond and to get the safety message across after the deaths.
"So we have a campaign running to focus people’s attention with a hard hitting message.
"We are hoping that if the message does not reach the elderly people by itself then their relatives or friends will pass on the message."
Last year on August 5 there was house fire death in Acomb, York, and the following day there was a fatal caravan fire at Pateley Bridge, near Harrogate.
An elderly man died in a caravan fire at Appleton Wiske, Northallerton, and there was a fire death at Haxby, York, last December.
The campaign also looks to highlight the dangers of cooking after drinking alcohol plus problems of leaving pans unattended.
The fire service spokesman said: "A second strand to the campaign is to try to reduce the number of deaths caused by people leaving cooking unattended and from using chip pans.
"People still use chip pans, which are dangerous, instead of grilling or using deep fat fryers and if they have also had a drink it can lead to tragic consequences.
"Despite our best efforts this type of fire is still a major problem and, on average, we have three cooking fires a week."
The fire safety campaign, which started on Monday, March 15 is to be posted across the county in an effort to reach as many people as possible.
The message will be posted on buses, pharmacy bags, post office TV waiting room screens, flyers, radio stations and in newspapers.
It forms part of the service’s 125 Alive scheme whereby it tries to save 125 lives between 2004-14 with its fire safety messages.
The fire service carries out free home safety checks and these can be arranged via 01609-788545 or by logging onto www.northyorksfire.gov.uk.
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