Council and democracy

Protecting your property.

Once the Fire and Rescue Service has left, the property becomes your responsibility again and you must carry out all the necessary measures in order to protect the building. You need to ask yourself the question "Is it safe and secure?"

After the fire has been extinguished, you may hear noises coming from the area that was affected. This is caused by the cooling of certain materials used in the construction of the building. For instance, brick walls tend to act like huge night storage heaters and may remain warm for many hours.

Fires produce large amounts of smoke and hot gases and it is necessary to remove these to speed up the process of firefighting and reduce the spread of fire and the amount of smoke damage.

For this reason windows may have to be broken and walls and ceilings forcibly opened to make sure there are no "hidden" fires, ensuring that the blaze is completely extinguished.

After the fire this action may appear to have been unnecessary, but the firefighters must make absolutely sure there is no fire left undetected that could cause further damage.

If your property cannot be completely secured following a fire or flood and you have to leave it unattended, follow the guidance below:

• Make sure that all doors and windows are closed where possible. Open doors and windows are an open invitation to burglars.
• Should windows or doors need to be boarded up, a contractor can be contacted through the Yellow Pages (www.yell.co.uk) or your local Thomson Directory (www.thomsonlocal.com)under "Glaziers". As insurance policies differ widely, it is impossible to say whether this will be covered. Check your policy for details.
• If you are a council tenant and your home needs boarding up, or if it is not possible for you to continue living there after the fire or flood, contact your housing department for advice.
• Remove all valuable items.
• Contact your local police station to make them aware that your property will be empty.
• If a business intends to partially re-open after the event, the fire risk assessment should be reviewed.

The Fire and Rescue Service may have used large waterproof sheets to temporarily protect your property and you can borrow these free of charge for seven days. During this time you should make arrangements to have these replaced, as we make a charge per day should you wish to borrow these for a longer period.