It’s probably fair to say that nothing does a better job of ruining the excitement of moving away from home for the very first time quite like being lectured about all the things you should and shouldn’t do. Heading out to your chosen student accommodation in Newcastle for example represents perhaps the first taste of real freedom you will have ever had, which in turn means you’re instinctively less likely to listen to an endless list of instructions, recommendations and warnings.
Nevertheless, there are certain essential warnings and guidelines the likes of which are simply too important to overlook. Unsurprisingly, those that exist under the ‘fire safety’ banner represent the most important of all. Fire safety doesn’t tend to be the kind of subject that’s completely alien to new students – most would at least have some semblance of a basic understanding at least. Nevertheless, it’s crucial not to lose sight of the importance of strong and on-going fire safety practices/habits, in order to prevent minor oversights snowballing into extremely serious problems.
So for those who’d rather err on the side of caution and remain as safe as possible while studying, here is a quick rundown of six essential tips not to overlook:
1 – Check Smoke Alarms
First of all, it is important to remember that while it is technically the responsibility of the property owner to provide smoke alarms, it is up to you yourself to make sure they are working. It takes no more than a few seconds to test a smoke alarm and it isn’t as if new batteries are particularly expensive, in the rare event that they may need to be changed. Smoke alarms save quite literally millions of lives every year and are just the kinds of things you don’t realise are of such incredible importance until you don’t have them when needed.
2 – Don’t Cook While Drunk
If there’s any fire safety tip that’s likely to be overlooked by so many students, it’s this one. Cooking while intoxicated seems to be one of those things students instinctively gravitate towards, despite the fact that doing so in its own right represents a rather dangerous activity. Whether it’s putting yourself at risk of painful burns or passing out entirely and burning the whole building down, there’s just so much that can possibly go wrong it really isn’t a risk that’s worth taking.
3 – Don’t Smoke Where You Shouldn’t
These days, it’s almost impossible to find a place where you are legally allowed to smoke that isn’t relatively safe. By contrast, if you choose to break the rules and smoke in places you really should be smoking, you run the risk of a variety of unfortunate consequences. Falling asleep while holding cigarettes for example still represents one of the most common causes of fatal house fires in the world. Again, it’s a risk that just isn’t worth taking.
4 – Beware Electric Heaters
Electric heaters can be great, but at the same time often produce suchintense and un-guarded heat that anything left in close proximity to them may very well catch fire. It’s comparatively rare for anyone to be silly enough to deliberately place things like clothes, shoes or books directly on an electric heater, though it is surprisingly common for objects to be left in dangerously close proximity to them. Never lose sight of just how dangerous they can be.
5 – Take Care with Candles
Candles can also be a student’s best friend by providing not only a wonderful sense of ambience, but also by adding fantastically affordable warmth to the room as a whole. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind the fact that the more candles you burn and the more frequently you burn them, the more likely you are to eventually forget to blow at least one of them out. And as it can take something as small and insignificant as a single tea light to burn down an entire apartment block…well, you can probably figure out the rest.
6 – If It’s Hot, Don’t Leave It Unattended
Last but not least, one of the single most important tips to live by when it comes to fire safety is that of never under any circumstances leaving anything hot unattended.This includes everything fromovens to hobs to electric heaters and even incense sticks – all of which can be extremely dangerous if left unsupervised. It may seem as if quickly popping out for just a few minutes won’t do any harm, but it’s these kinds of momentary lapses in judgment that have the potential to lead to outright disaster.
