THE Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service has urged the public to prepare for the winter weather.
Last year over the Christmas period alone fire crews responded to a staggering number of emergency incidents right across the Island and many of these were as a direct result of the extreme weather conditions.
These included road traffic collisions, flooding incidents and extra fire hazards in the home, such as additional heating systems and fires that had not been lit for some time, which resulted in firefighters attending a number of accidental fires in homes as well as chimney fires.
Jeff Looker, head of fire safety at the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We want to reassure the public that the Fire and Rescue Service is well prepared and well-rehearsed in terms of our contingency planning in readiness for severe weather conditions.
"This is to ensure that we can maintain our response to emergencies through heavy snow, ice, freezing temperatures, thaw and flooding.
"We are a 'can do' organisation and we will where at all possible render humanitarian assistance to help protect our community and help our partner agencies during what can be a very testing time for everyone.
"What I would ask however is that everyone on the Island also thinks about their own personal preparedness for the challenges that severe weather may bring. This is essentially helping us to help you.
"During periods of extreme winter weather we receive higher volumes of calls for emergency assistance and inevitably the types of incidents firefighters are faced with become more challenging and indeed even accessing those in need during emergency situations becomes more difficult.
"It is important for the public to understand what we can and what we cannot respond to. This allows us to help those in real emergency situations.
"During severe and prolonged weather periods and in particular over Christmas time people remain indoors more and extra fire hazards such as candles, fairy tree lights and portable heaters are introduced into the home.
"Sometimes people can become complacent about their fire safety during the festivities and I am urging everyone to keep themselves and their families safe over the Christmas period by being extra vigilant to avoid fires in their homes.
"I would also appeal to drivers to take extra care while driving as winter weather heightens the dangers on our roads. During severe weather only make essential journeys.
"It is also important that drivers prepare for all eventualities, such as delays and breakdowns; they should ensure that their vehicles are in a sound, road worthy condition, paying particular attention to the tyres and lights.
"They should also ensure that they prepare for the worst and carry with them a mobile phone and some additional warm clothing or a blanket.
"We want people to enjoy themselves and be safe over the coming weeks. If everyone takes just a little extra time to get prepared for winter conditions and to make sure they are following the safety advice then they can help us as a fire and rescue service and help themselves to have a happy and safe Christmas."
For more information visit www.iomfire.com.
