Firefighters back safety pledge

6:57am Friday 16th May 2008

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FIREFIGHTERS have urged the public to sign up to an Internet pledge aiming to save hundreds of lives across the county.

The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has added the three step pledge to the website of its 365 Alive safety campaign.

The website asks people to promise to:

• Always wear a seatbelt
• Check smoke alarms once a week
• Have a home fire escape plan.

Chief Fire Officer John Parry said: "The pledges are part of the public's responsibility to think about and take action over things which could improve their safety and the safety of people who might be vulnerable in their community.

"It is very important that people sign up. They are three simple things, but these three things will make them safer.

"We want to get as many people signing up to the pledges as possible to help us achieve the 365 alive targets."

The Internet pledge is part of a relaunch of the 365 Alive campaign, which finished its second year at the end of April. Campaign organisers want to ensure an extra 365 lives are saved in Oxfordshire, cut the cost of property damage from fires in the county by £100m and deliver 840,000 community safety messages to the public over the next 10 years.

The campaign was launched in April 2006 after figures revealed 477 people had died in road accidents and 39 in house fires over the previous decade.