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Sight impairment

Safe and Well Visit

Request a safe and well visitThe Safe and Well Visit is a totally free service offered by Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service.

If you would like us to we will visit you in your home to see what we can do to make you safer. We will have a chat with you around improving your health and wellbeing.

When we visit we will fit free smoke alarms and offer advice to make you and your family safer at home.

Complete our online request form, call our community safety helpline on 08000 325999 or email community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk to request a visit.

Smoke alarms

  • If you have trouble seeing your smoke alarm put a coloured sticker on your smoke alarm and test it weekly.

Electrical

  • Regularly check electrical leads regularly by touch. Make sure they are switched off and unplugged first.
  • If they are frayed or faulty don’t plug them in or switch them on.
  • If electrics are giving off a burning smell turn them off and unplug them immediately.
  • You could consider fitting bump-ons or plastic blisters to appliances as a way of making sure they are switched off properly.

Planning an escape route

  • When planning your escape think of all possible escape routes in case there’s a fire. And what you could do if you are unable to escape due to mobility difficulties.
  • It is a good idea to practise an escape so you feel confident you could do it day or night.
  • Keep a phone in your bedroom in case you need to make an emergency call - if it’s a mobile, keep it charged.
  • Make sure exits are kept clear and well lit and keep keys where you can find them in a hurry.
  • You may also want to consider placing a tactile indicator along your escape route to make it easier to find an exit.

In the event of a fire

  • Don’t tackle the fire yourself. If you can, get out, stay out and call 999.
    • If you can’t dial 999 yourself get a neighbour to do it for you.
  • If you can’t get out stay in a room with a shut door, window and phone, ideally at the front of the house.
    • Put bedding round the bottom of the door to block out the smoke, then open the window and call “Help Fire”. Keep a whistle handy if it’s hard to shout.
  • If you can, close inside doors at night. This will help prevent a fire from spreading.

If you have a specific fire safety question or concern, call our community safety helpline on 08000 325999 or email community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

Oxfordshire County Councils Sensory Impairments Team

Oxfordshire County Councils Sensory Impairments Team can advise and support people of all ages with sight.

The team are specially trained and will offer advice and support to people of all ages. They have a wide experience of all issues related to visual impairment and will make appointments to see you at their office in Abingdon or in your own home.

The team can talk with you via telephone, text, email or fax. Or you can ask someone else to call them for you such as a relative, friend, GP, specialist, nurse or care manager.

Telephone: 01865 894935
Fax: 01865 894930
Email: visual.impairment@oxfordshire.gov.uk

More information about helpful indicators can be found on the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) online shop.