Practical advice and personal stories from children ... - MS Australia

LIFESTYLE
Play it Safe:
Fire Prevention
at Home
As the weather cools down, we will soon
start digging for the electric blankets and
dusting off our heaters to brace for winter.
It is also a good time to remind ourselves
about the potential risk of house fires, as
well as how to prevent them and plan for
an emergency.
Robyn Pope is all too familiar with the disastrous effects of
a house fire. With her own home catching alight last year,
it was only the quick thinking and bravery of her neighbour
that saved her life.
Robyn is 43 and has been living with MS for 13 years.
She lives alone in Sydney’s south west and has very limited
Quick Facts
l Each year, Fire and Rescue NSW
responds to approximately 190,000
calls across NSW.
l Last year, 4,348 of these were
preventable fires in residential
properties.
l Data indicates that residential fires
increase during the cooler months from
May to August.
l In Australia, research has found the
following to be the most common
causes of fire:
cooking 47%
faulty electrical appliance/
fitting 13%
open fire 5%
bush fire 5%
candles/oil burners 4%
flammable liquid/gas/gas leak 4%
cigarettes 3%
mobility and other permanent and severe challenges due
to her progressive disease. Wishing to remain independent
and live at home, Robyn uses an electric wheelchair and
has home care services visit four times per day, as well
as MS community support workers and a physiotherapist
once a week.
Last year, though, life took an unexpected turn for
Robyn. “Home care usually come and put me to bed at
8.15pm but on 16 September I wanted to stay up and
watch The Footy Show,” recalls Robyn. “My neighbour
came over to help hoist me into bed. As she was saying
goodbye and walked out of the bedroom, she just
happened to turn around to see a big red glow coming
from under the door of the second bedroom. She opened
the door to find the house was on fire. She raced back in
and grabbed the hoist to help me out of bed but I realised
that, because the bedroom door had been opened, the fire
would spread quickly and it would take too long for us to
get the hoist operating and get out safely.
“While my neighbour called the fire brigade and her
partner for help, I dragged myself out of bed and into my
wheelchair. It was hard and very painful but I just had to
do it. Everything seemed like it was taking forever. My
neighbour’s partner jumped the fence and grabbed the
hose to start tackling the fire. The glass windows blew out
and he was quite badly cut from that explosion.
“As my friend was trying to help me get out of the
bedroom, the smoke was so thick we could barely see
two inches in front of us. I accidentally pinned her against
the cupboard at one point because we just couldn’t see.
I managed to turn the chair around to move out of the
bedroom and head to the back door. By the time we
got out of the room, though, we couldn’t get to the back
door as the fire and smoke has spread. The only other
option was the front door but I have a small patio and
Thinkstock/Digital Vision/ Michael Blann
36 intouch autumn 2011
www.msaustralia.org.au/actnswvic