Scunthorpe’s house of hazards proves a hit

A unique experiment to raise awareness of dangers in the home has proved such a success that it is now opening its doors to the local community.

Scunthorpe’s ‘Hazard House’, which opened in August 2009, is a joint project between North Lincolnshire Council, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and local housing association Guinness Northern Counties.

For the last six months, the specially converted property has been helping to train staff from Humberside Fire & Rescue Service, North Lincolnshire Council, Children’s Services, North Lincolnshire Homes and Guinness Northern Counties to spot signs of potential danger when they carry out home visits.

Now it is hoped to find a permanent base for the project so that the training can be made available to other organisations and tenants, both locally and from around the country.

The location of the formerly empty housing association property has been kept a secret to prevent vandalism and from the outside it looks like any other two bedroom terrace on the same street. But inside a whole range of tell-tale signs have been specially installed that could easily go unnoticed to the untrained eye.

The aim is to equip staff with the awareness to spot every conceivable danger; from a potential fire trap to dangerous electrics or tripping hazards, and from drug or alcohol abuse to domestic violence, child cruelty or even political extremism including terrorism.

Life-like mannequins sprawled across sofas add a surreal quality to the unusual training venue but provide an important teaching aid for visitors who are encouraged to engage in discussion about what they can see.

Becky Harrison, Guinness Northern Counties area manager for Scunthorpe said: “There is nothing quite like this in existence anywhere as far as we know and it has proved a really valuable training aid. This was supported by the positive feedback received on the course evaluations, which gave an excellent overall rating to the facilities, training content and delivery.

“The house looks and feels just like the kind of property our staff visit every day, but we want to equip them with the skills and knowledge to be able to identify and respond to potential danger signs. This could be anything from simply giving the customers some helpful advice to knowing how and when to report a potentially more serious problem.

“We want our customers to be able to live safely in their homes and neighbourhoods and this one very practical way of helping to ensure that.”

The pilot project has been funded solely from partners devoting their time and resources, but the long-term future of the project has been secured through LPSA reward grant funding which will be used to establish a permanent training facility within the Scunthorpe area.

Sajda Shah, health promotion officer for North Lincolnshire Council said: “Approximately 2 million children attend A & E departments each year as a result of accidents. Something like half of these happen in the home environment. Unfortunately for some of these children their injuries are severe, causing permanent disfigurement or requiring extended hospital treatment. The sad thing is that a lot of these could be avoided by simple changes in behaviour such as moving chemicals and medicines out of reach or by fitting safety equipment like stair-gates and fireguards.

“That’s why having the Hazard House as a training venue is so valuable. By walking around the venue, students get a chance to identify hazards in a lifelike environment. Supplying information regarding local services and national accident prevention bodies will empower our students to help prevent accidents in the home.

“By having this facility here in North Lincolnshire it is hoped that we will reduce our accident figures significantly and make the home a safe and enjoyable place to be.”

Nick Tharratt community safety manager for Humberside Fire & Rescue Service added: “This project has given us the opportunity to make a real difference to improving the home safety and welfare of all the community. It also has given us the chance to standardise the training, improve referral pathways and raise awareness of home safety across all services, and work more effectively with our community partners to reduce home accidents and injuries within the North Lincolnshire area.”

Photo shows from left to right: Nick Tharratt, Community Safety Manager for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, Becky Harrison, Guinness Northern Counties Area Manager Scunthorpe, Sajda Shah, Health Promotion Officer for North Lincolnshire Council.