No fire deaths in Cornwall last year

For the first time in its history Cornwall Fire Brigade was able to report that there were no deaths from fire in the last financial year. The chief fire officer said that he believed the brigade's community fire prevention work was a factor in achieving this zero figure. Apparently firefighters had visited 18,000 homes in Cornwall last year performing home safety checks and, where appropriate, fitting smoke alarms free of charge.

Having just written this I've been compelled to check my smoke alarm! All is well I'm glad to say. I must make a point of checking it on a weekly basis. Now here's an interesting comment I once received from someone very knowledgeable about batteries: he is only prepared to sell the Duracell type of batteries for a smoke alarm. This is because the cheaper batteries aren't really capable of continuing to emit that high pitched sound over a lengthy period. In other words for that heavy sleeper who comes home after a heavy drinking session shall we say he may not awake soon enough.

My cottage is so small that one alarm covers the whole house: it is located on the landing outside my bedroom. Putting it up was the very first thing I did when moving in - my reasoning being that the first day was just as likely to see a fire as any subsequent day. I'm pleased to say though that nothing eventful happened...