DW90. Fossil Fuel Fires in Service Users’ Homes
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Fossil Fuel Fires in Service Users’ Homes (Wales) Policy
Policy Statement
Domiciliary Support services are registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales to carry out a regulated service, usually involving personal care. They might also offer unregulated services, mainly in the form of practical help with everyday tasks such as cleaning, shopping and general household maintenance. Such services could also be contracted by local authorities in line with their duties under the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 to enable people to live independently for as long as possible as part of a comprehensive care and support package.
When delivering any service, a domiciliary care provider has a duty of care to ensure the safety of the person to whom they are providing their services and the health and safety of their employees. The safety of the environment for the carrying out of both regulated and unregulated activity is therefore clearly important.
Use of Fossil Fuel Fires
A number of service users’ homes might still use fossil fuel fireplaces or ranges for their heating and hot water. Such fireplaces will nearly always be designed to burn multi-fuels such as wood and peat, but many will depend on (smokeless) coal as their main fuel. Open fires clearly carry more fire safety risks than closed stoves and ranges, mainly from sparks that can escape and ignite inflammable substances with which they come into contact. Any flammable substances should be kept out of the way, particularly if the service user is prescribed oxygen and has oxygen cylinders in the house.
Fire safety hazards can of course be created from other forms of heating, such as gas and electricity, and particularly portable heating appliances, such as electric fires or paraffin heaters. Fossil fuel burning stoves might present specific risks associated with their medium, but require the same safety-minded approach as any other heating appliance. Used correctly they arguably do not present any greater risk than any other method of heating. The agency will need to make its assessment of the risks on a case by case basis and any control measures needed will be largely determined by individual circumstances.
A householder is always responsible, whether directly or indirectly, for ensuring the upkeep and safety of their own home. If employees of the domiciliary care provider identify safety hazards in the home that put the service user at risk, which are not contingent on the care or other services being provided, they should report or discuss these with the householder(s) so that the latter can take the appropriate steps to reduce the risks as they think fit.
Where the hazards are contingent on the care and services being provided then the domiciliary care provider will need to take suitable measures to protect the service user and the service’s employees. These could entail relatively simple measures such as insisting as a pre-condition of providing care to someone who uses an open coal or wood burning fire to heat their accommodation that a suitable fire guard is in place and, in some cases, that fire extinguishers designed for home use are available. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors might be recommended.
Where the hazards present a serious risk to the safety of the service user or there is a risk of being burned by the hot surfaces of a closed range, then this would need to be reported to the relevant parties. This may be the person’s lawful representatives, informal carers, service commissioners or the local Safeguarding Adults Board. This will allow appropriate safety measures to be put in place and effective safeguarding action to be taken.
Making and Maintaining Open Fires and Fossil Fuel Ranges
Where a domiciliary care agency agrees to include practical support, which involves the lighting and maintaining a coal or other fossil fuel means of heating, it should establish the following:
- the chimney and flue are in acceptable conditions (and open to allowing smoke to escape)
- the fire hearth and surrounds are reasonably safe (constructed of metal bars with gaps between them to allow air to circulate with griddles or pokers to allow ash to be removed).
- there are means of collecting and safely disposing the ash
- suitable fire tools are available (eg rake, brush and shovel)
- there is a suitable supply of tinder (paper, wood or fire lighters) and lighters
- there is a suitable supply of fuel (coal and/or wood)
- enough fuel is provided to keep the fire going from a readily available source.
Similar arrangements should be in place where closed fires are used, such as in stoves and ranges. The procedures to be followed will be in line with the specific appliances entailed.
Where care staff are involved in any part of the operations needed to light or keep fires going they will need to have a manual handling risk assessment. Most fires require elements of bending, either to lay a fire or remove ash-pans, and lifting.
They will be expected to wear suitable protective equipment, including gloves, and observe hand-washing procedures as for infection control.
Training
Any staff involved in these activities will be expected to receive instruction in and know how to follow the procedures for the applicable methods and appliances.
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