Stafford and Rural Homes

September 30, 2008

Stay warm but keep safe this Winter – that’s the message going out to older residents of Stafford and Stone this month from Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH).

In anticipation of the colder nights drawing near, SARH teamed up with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue service recently to hold two ‘Winter Warmer’ drop-in events at their advice shops in Stafford and Stone.

Local residents aged 60 or over were encouraged to bring along their electric blankets for a free electrical safety test by the Fire Service, with a promise that any that failed the test would be replaced free of charge.

And for those who like to curl up in bed with a good read they also ran a book swap, where customers could drop off a favourite book in exchange for another one, free of charge.

Sandra Shipperley, Customer Participation Officer at SARH explained why it is important for older people to have their electric blanket regularly checked: “According to Age Concern, old or damaged electric blankets cause more than 5,000 house fires a year” she said, “and older people aged 65 years or more are at greatest risk, with six times the national average of fatal injuries.”

“With Winter approaching and many people worrying about heating costs, we don’t want our customers compromising their safety when it comes to keeping warm.”

Mick Kennelly, Assistant Area Commander for Stafford said: “This year’s electric blanket campaign has been a great success in the Stafford Borough area, with fire-fighters from Stafford, Gnosall, Stone and Eccleshall all getting involved.

“The electric blanket campaign is a key feature of our continuing drive to reduce, still further, the incidents of fire within the home. All of the people who attended our drop in clinics were also offered home fire risk checks.

“The free home fire risk check service remains at the heart of our commitment to protect our communities from fire within their homes. Any persons who wish to take advantage of this service should call 0800 0241 999.”

The two events were part of a year long programme of advice and information days that SARH is holding each month at its advice shops at 56 Grey Friars, Stafford and 3 Crown Courtyard, Crown Street, Stone.

The next event at both shops will be a Halloween dressing up competition for children on 31st October from 3.30pm to around 5.30pm. There will be prizes on offer for the best costume and a chance to appear in SARH’s newsletter, Opening Doors.

Future events will focus on themes such as imaginative ways to manage your money and keeping your home energy costs low.

As ever, there will be useful information on hand about SARH’s services as well as goody bags, giveaways and competitions for the children. For more information, log on to www.sarh.co.uk or telephone SARH on 01785 216789.