I attended a fascinating talk this week from a member of the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, all about fire safety in the home.
It was a great reminder of how a fire can break out and how we can do lots to prevent it and, if one breaks out, escape from it.
Simple things like unplugging equipment when it’s not being used, planning an escape route, keeping all doors closed, not overloading plugs or extension leads, and being extremely careful if you burn candles or, better still, don’t burn them at all.
We watched films about how quickly a fire can spread in a home and heard how it’s the smoke inhalation rather than flames that kills most people.
One of the best things you can have is a working smoke detector.
For just a few quid, you could potentially save the lives of you and your family, yet so many people don’t bother to get one or, if they do have one, check if it works.
They also have a shelf life, so the battery may be working but the detector may not.
How about you checking yours today?
While I was listening, I was reminded of how familiar this information was and, of course, it used to come from public information films.
These short films used to pop up regularly on television when I was a child but I just don’t see them anywhere now. Those films are lodged in my brain 50 or more years later.
If we had them now, perhaps we’d have a much better and safer society.
I can remember one featuring a burning cigarette left in an ashtray that fell down the side of a chair, which then engulfed the room.
In fact, I’ve got a DVD which features 157 different ones!
Whatever happened to the Green Cross Code adverts and, before that, Tufty the squirrel? Both taught youngsters how to safely cross the road.
Tufty even had his own club> Maybe you were in it?
As kids, we played out more than today’s children, and so we had information films about all sorts of things, from getting stuck in a dumped fridge to Charley the cat telling us not to go with strangers. There were others about being careful with hot teapots and the dangers of matches.
We had the cartoon couple, Joe and Petunia, warning us about the country code, shutting gates and not dropping litter.
I’d bring one out just like that right now but include keeping dogs on leads near sheep and cattle. I'd also do one about the dangers of littering.
The beach in Felixstowe has been packed lately with multiple reports of beach litter at the end of the day, including soiled nappies. Disgusting.
We ban dogs from parts of the beach, perhaps we should ban some of these so-called humans!
Another that completely freaked me out when I was young was called Dark Water and featured a hooded figure looking like the Grim Reaper just waiting for a child to fall in the water and die. Scary stuff.
With so many youngsters drowning each summer, perhaps we need to run the advert again for today’s kids.
They weren’t just aimed at children, we had ones showing how a yellow box junction should work. We certainly need that one back or redone!
There was another I clearly remember which featured a woman putting a mat down on a polished floor. The voice-over said: "She may as well put down a man trap." A man then slid over and landed on his back.
There were ones telling us to learn to swim, others warning about purse snatching, bicycle thefts, keeping your home safe from burglars and not dazzling oncoming vehicles with your headlights. There was also a protect and survive warning of the dangers of nuclear war!
Every one of those should be redone and put out today.
I wonder how many you can remember.
Do write in to the letters page and let me know.
Oh, and when you go to bed tonight, switch things off and close all the doors; it could save your life.
I know I will be.
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