A partnership between North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Wrexham County Borough Council's Telecare Service is being strengthened to improve fire safety for vulnerable people in Wrexham.

Fires can occur to anyone, anywhere in the home - from cooking being left unattended, a spark from an open fire, a cigarette left burning or an electrical fault for example. The partnership is aimed at improving safety for those most vulnerable who are at an increased risk of injury due to fire, which may even be life threatening.

As part of the work to develop the partnerships, Home Fire Safety Officers from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have received training in programming smoke detectors that link to the Telecare monitoring centre, which has been outsourced to a private company Sanctuary 365.

Dave Roberts, Partnership Manager for Flintshire and Wrexham, said: "Wrexham Council supports over 300 vulnerable people through its Telecare service, and fire safety is a key feature of the equipment provided which includes an alarm unit, a range of sensors, smoke and heat detectors. This guarantees that if a fire occurs the sensors will automatically send a call through to the 24 hour Telecare response centre.

"The single most effective step anyone can take to reduce their risk of fire is to fit working smoke alarms to their property - the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service offers free home fire safety check to all residents in North Wales and has already installed thousands of standalone smoke detectors across the region. But this extra step will ensure that we reduce the risks of potential fire to individuals who may have disabilities, sensory impairment or mobility problems.

"Our aim is not only to respond to tackling fires but also to prevent them from occurring in the first place, and developing this partnership will enable us to share our skills and knowledge as well as hopefully encourage further partnerships."

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service offers free home fire safety checks where new smoke alarms will be fitted where needed totally free of charge. Please call the 24 hour hotline on 0800 1691243, email cfs@nwales-fireservice.org.uk, visit
www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk or text or text 88365, prefixing the message with the word HFSC.