Government launches latest Fire Kills national advertising wave

The campaign reminds people of the need to have smoke alarms on every floor of their homes and to test them monthly¹.

The national campaign for England is planned, developed and delivered with support from local fire and rescue services and the NFCC¹. The advertising presents a series of small accidents that can lead to a fire. The TV advert, which runs on video on demand channels such as All4 and ITVX, follows a route around a home to show how one small accident could escalate into a serious fire. Shortened versions run across paid social media, with a radio advert on linear and digital audio channels¹.

The campaign is live from the end of October and runs in two-week bursts in November and December, followed by one-week bursts from January to March¹. The NFCC also points to an online home fire safety check tool on the Fire Kills campaign page, developed jointly by the NFCC, Fire Kills and Safelincs, which gives fire safety advice tailored to a household and its living arrangements after a few simple questions¹.

Mark Hardingham, Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said:

The NFCC set out the campaign's core message directly: "make sure you have a smoke alarm on every floor in your home and test them monthly!"¹

Why it matters for households

The campaign is aimed at households in England, where it is planned and delivered with local fire and rescue services¹. Its message covers two points: having a smoke alarm on every floor, and testing alarms monthly. The NFCC describes regular installation and testing as simple advice that helps protect the most vulnerable and their families from the impact of fire in the home¹. The advertising runs from the end of October in the bursts set out above¹. Households wanting to check their own arrangements can read our guides on how many smoke alarms a house or flat needs, where to fit smoke alarms and how often to test smoke and CO alarms. Our fire safety checklist covers the wider points, and there is more in the home emergencies hub.

What happens next

The advertising continues in two-week bursts in November and December, then one-week bursts from January to March¹. The online home fire safety check remains available through the Fire Kills campaign page¹.