Diwali Safety Advice - 08/11/2018

RANA risk management would like to offer safety advice to all people celebrating Diwali as National statistics show five fires are caused by candles in the home every day.

Diwali is celebrated on the last day of the Gujarati calendar year. The "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light". It is one of the most important Indian festivals and Diwali celebrations are spread over five days in India and all over the world. 

Did you know? According to Hindu reckoning, the date of Diwali falls on 15th day of the dark fortnight in the auspicious Hindu month of Kartik or the month of October/November in English calendar. This Diwali day falls on the amavasya or the no moon day. Diwali date comes 20 days after the popular festival of Dussehra or Vijaya Dashmi.

Statistics prove that candle fires increase by over a third during the Diwali period and over 20 percent of deaths caused by candles occur at this time.

In addition, the celebrations all involve an increased amount of cooking and entertaining in the home. Nearly 57 percent of all fires in the home are caused by cooking accidents and there are 20 fat pan fires every day in the UK.

It is ironic and tragic that during periods of celebration there is a dramatic increase in the number of fires amongst many communities. It is not only Diwali, but we also see an increase at Christmas - it is often that safety comes second to celebration. 

RANA risk management would like to make communities more aware of their surroundings and ensure that they are actively thinking about fire safety in the home as well as work!

By taking just a few simple precautions you can greatly reduce the risks for yourself and your family. We would especially urge the celebrating communities to ensure they have a working smoke alarm installed on every floor of their home. If there is a fire, a smoke alarm will immediately warn you, giving you and everyone in your home time to escape to safety.

General Safety Advice

• Have a working smoke alarm on each floor level of your home
• Check that your smoke alarms are working (check them each week)
• Don't leave cooking unattended
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children
• Discuss and agree with your family what to do if there is a fire - plan an escape route