Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service aims to help protect groups that may be vulnerable to a fire or escaping a fire.
One of those groups may be those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
In some cases Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service may be able to provide a hard of hearing smoke alarm, which features a vibrating pad and light strobe.
If you have concerns that a relative or friend may not be able to hear their smoke alarm in the event of a fire please call 0800 731 5958.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing and require a Home Fire Safety Check, please Text 07864 995752.
To request a Home Fire Safety Check for a friend or relative and for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, please call 0800 731 5958 or complete a free online Home Fire Safety Check by clicking here.
A Home Fire Safety Check includes fire safety advice for people in their homes during a visit at a time that has been pre-arranged in advance.
People who have difficulties with speech or are hard of hearing or deaf can email fireservicedirect@merseyfire.gov.uk requesting fire safety information to be sent to them.
TEXT MESSAGE OPTIONS:
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service also urges people who are unable to make a voice call to 999 to register their mobile phones with the emergency SMS service. This allows them to text an emergency call to any of the UK’s emergency services.
To do this they should text ‘register’ to 999 and then follow the instructions received. For further information visit www.emergencysms.net
Once registered the person can make an emergency call by sending a text to 999.
You Must State In The Text:
- Who? Fire, Police, Ambulance, Coastguard etc
- What? Briefly explain the problem.
- Where? Exactly where is the problem. Give the name or the road and town. Plus more information such as a house number or nearby landmarks e.g. pub, church or school.
What happens next?
The emergency service will either ask for more information or will tell you help is on the way. Do not assume help is on the way until you receive a message back from the emergency services. This can take about 2 minutes. If you do not hear back retry after 3 minutes.
It is important that the person’s mobile phone number is registered otherwise the above will not work.