ACT Fire and Rescue has launched a new fire safety campaign aimed at residents and tenants of multi-storey buildings.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Mick Gentleman said close proximity living, as in apartments and unit complexes, posed a challenge for residents and responding emergency services due to the height, arrangement, and nature of the buildings.
“The 2016 Census shows 35 per cent of Canberra’s population are living in high-density buildings,” Mr Gentleman said.
He said historically, winter is the worst time of the year for fires in the home.
“The best way to keep you and your family safe is to prevent fires from occurring and to know what to do in case of a fire,” Mr Gentleman said.
Chief Officer at ACT Fire and Rescue, Mark Brown said his service responded to 319 automatic fire alarms in multi-storey buildings last winter.
He said most household fires started in the kitchen, with the majority of those caused by unattended cooking.
“To reduce these numbers, it is important that we work to change people’s behaviour and attitude towards home fire safety,” Chief Officer Brown said.
“It can take just three minutes for a fire to take hold, but only seconds to prevent one.”
