Contents:

- Thanks for attending the Christmas Drinks
- Fire safety advice.
- A report on the Furzedown Ward Working Group Meeting (held 7th Feb 2001).

 

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Thanks For Attending the Christmas Drinks:
It was great to see you all in December - and special thanks to Peter and Audrey for hosting the event again. Steve and Al from the Watchlink Unit were there, but PC Davies couldn't make it due for operational reasons - he sends his apologies.

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Fire Safety Advice:
At the Annual Neighbourhood Watch Seminar, Station Commander Max Dissanayake of the London Fire Brigade told us of the Brigade's campaign to reduce the number of fires, deaths or injuries from fire and false alarms by 20%. Here's a brief summary:

Over 75% of all fires are accidental - with 47% of fires in the home caused by smoking and 32% caused by cooking. People under 18 years and over 60 years of age are most at risk of being injured or killed by fire. Since the Brigade arrive at a fire in under 8 minutes in over 95% of incidents, the only way to achieve this reduction is to persuade Londoners to make their homes and businesses safer. You will have seen the TV ads and leaflets encouraging you to fit smoke alarms and plan an escape route - but only 60% of homes in London have smoke alarms. There are around 90 deaths, 1,100 injuries and 6,700 house fires in London every year - and in Wandsworth alone in one year there were 571 property fires and 462 other fires. So what can we do?


1) FIT A SMOKE ALARM - in fact fit two or more which meet the BS5446 Part1 standard and display a 'kitemark'. The Fire Brigade say for minimum effective protection you should fit one on each floor of your house - one downstairs in the hall and one upstairs on the ceiling between bedrooms for most houses in our street. There should be advice on where to put them on the packaging. Test them by pressing the button once a month - and change the batteries once a year - make a note in your diary. The Fire Brigade say IF YOU DON'T HAVE WORKING SMOKE ALARMS IN YOUR HOME, YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVING A FIRE WHEN YOU ARE ASLEEP ARE ALMOST ZERO.


2) As a member of a Neighbourhood Watch, you've hopefully secured all your doors and windows and don't leave keys around - but have you considered how you would escape in the event of a fire? The Fire Brigade says PLAN AN ESCAPE ROUTE, AND AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE, FOR EVERYONE IN THE HOUSEHOLD - KEEP THOSE ROUTES CLEAR. Keep your keys with you at night.


3) IF YOUR ROUTES ARE BLOCKED IT'S SAFER TO STAY PUT AND PROTECT YOURSELF UNTIL THE FIRE BRIGADE ARRIVES. Identify a suitable room now - choose one with a window that opens and, if possible, a phone so that you can dial 999.


4) KEEP DOORS CLOSED AT NIGHT - this will help prevent the spread of smoke and fire. Do a safety check before going to bed each night - switch off as many electrical items as possible at the wall socket - check gas appliances and put a spark guard in front of open fires - put out cigarette ends and candles properly and keep matches and lighters away from children.


5) If your smoke alarm goes off while you're asleep, don't investigate to see if there's a fire, shout to wake everyone up, get together, follow your plan and get out. Check doors with the BACK of your hand - if they're warm do not open them - the fire is on the other side. If there is a lot of smoke, crawl along with your nose near the floor where the air will be cleaner. Call the Fire Brigade from a mobile phone, a neighbour's house or a phone box. Give the address of the fire. Don't stop or go back for anything. If your escape route is blocked, get everyone into one room and close the door. Smoke and fumes can kill quickly, so put bedding or towels along the bottom of the door to seal the gap. Open the window and stay near it for fresh air and to let firefighters see you. Phone the fire brigade or shout for help so someone else can phone for you.

This is just a summary - I have more information - just knock to borrow a full pack of advice and leaflets, or visit www.community-fire-safety.org.uk. See also on-line leaflets at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/fepd/public.htm. For more information on fire safety in your home phone the Fire Brigade - 020 7582 3811.

Information in this article was taken from the speech by Station Commander Max Dissanayake, London Fire Brigade and from Home Office leaflets 'Wake Up! Get A Smoke Alarm' and 'Make Your Plan - Get Out Alive'. Images reproduced from same Home Office leafltets published by the Home Office Communication Directorate with thanks.

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Furzedown Ward Working Group Meeting:
The group met again on 7th Feb, upstairs at the Park Tavern, Mitcham Lane. We learned that the area outside the pub (which has suffered many problems for shopkeepers and residents) is to benefit from a newer, moving, monitored CCTV camera (like those at Tooting Broadway). It is hoped that the camera will be installed and working before the school summer holidays, and will enable Police at Tooting Police Station and the council's CCTV control room to quickly zoom in on trouble makers. The upgrade will cost around £10,000, and has been approved as a result of public meetings (like this one) and pressure from local councillors.

On a related matter, 3 boys have been identified as main trouble-makers in the area and are being dealt with by the Youth Offending Team - one of the boys has assaulted a local shopkeeper. Various methods are being considered - so far the boys have refused to take part in a voluntary mentoring scheme. Those at the meeting felt that more supervised activities for teenagers were needed in the ward and local councillors at the meeting said they'd see what they could do, but a recent 'regeneration' grant for Tooting didn't extend as far as Furzedown.

The meeting also heard that in spite of efforts by Police, the graffiti situation has improved very little. Although a few areas are now clear of it, some are just as bad - in particular in alleyways. One boy was prosecuted on 21st Nov for 6 offences with 15 others to be taken into consideration. He has now been to court 8 times, but the case is still pending due to various complications. There is a conference in April to discuss ways forward on the graffiti problem which P.C. Davies will be attending. It's hoped the conference will identify new strategies which can be used here.

Inspector Ross Cook attended the meeting - he's now Inspector for Balham and Tooting area. He said he was concerned by the issues raised at the meeting, would monitor the new camera whenever possible and thanked the public for their patience in a period where the Police are overstretched due to shortage of staff. In this area of London they are currently a third down on full strength and there are sometimes as few as 30 officers on duty in Wandsworth borough. There was some good news, in that 15 new recruits have been allocated for our area - but they will take a few months to complete their training. This will still not bring numbers up to strength, but is a big help.

Other issues raised included cycling on pavements, dog fouling and the proposed Hostel for Offenders in Balham (which you'll have seen on the news). Plans for the hostel have not been cancelled - only 'shelved' pending a nationwide strategy review.

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That's all for this edition - next one due towards the beginning of June in preparation for the National Neighbourhood Watch Week. Crime reports are now arriving by Email - have a look at the 'NEWSFLASH' section of the website for the latest news. You can also have news and crime reports Emailed to you - just send me an Email (link below) with 'NEWSFLASH SUBSCRIBE' in the subject line, and I'll forward items to you as soon as I receive them.

Best Wishes
Andy (Watch Co-Ordinator).