Principles
The 8 principles draws on local and national serious safeguarding incidents relating to fire in people's homes. The section below explains the principles in more detail. The principles are underpinned by the following messages for improving practice:
Use the links below to review each principle.
Everyone who comes into contact with people who are at increased risk of harm by fire has a duty to promote fire safety to keep them safe from fires in their home.
The S.11 duty under the Children Act 2004, sets out that organisations and agencies should have in place arrangements that reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including:
- A culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, both in individual decisions and the development of services;
- Clear whistleblowing procedures;
- Clear escalation policies;
- Established processes information sharing;
- Supervision and support to fulfil their child welfare and safeguarding responsibilities effectively;
- Safe recruitment practices;
- A culture of safety, equality and protection within the services they provide.
To check if someone is vulnerable, ask:
-
Are they at increased risk of harm by fire?
-
Can they react, respond and escape?
-
If not, how can fire risks be minimised?
When you come into contact with a vulnerable person, it is important to focus on:
- Empowerment - supporting and encouraging the person to make their own decisions to keep themselves safe.
- Prevention - taking action to prevent harm rather than waiting for harm to occur.
- Proportionality - responding in the least intrusive way to minimise risks.
- Protection - ensuring adequate support is provided to meet individual needs.
Partnership working - no one should work in isolation. All agencies have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting fire risks, and should be proactive in doing so.
Professional curiosity can help save lives.
Act on your instincts when you make a home visit. Look around, ask questions, relate these to common fire risks, and the learning from fatal fire incidents.
Always ask questions of the lived environment. In every room, think: could a fire start here? If it did, could the person get out? Is there anything that could block escape routes?