Test your smoke alarm this clock change weekend (31 March 2013)
A young boy explores the burnt-out shell of his former home, examines his old toys, and a clock, then asks you to make a life-saving promise this Easter - to test your smoke alarm and keep your loved ones safe from fire.
This is the story of a new Fire Kills online video launched today (5 March 2013).
15 children died in accidental fires last year, among a total 7,256 injuries and 187 deaths from dwelling fires across the country, and you’re 4 times more likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a working smoke alarm.
The new heart-wrenching video by up-and-coming director, Stevie Russell, reminds everyone exactly what is at stake in a house fire, and is part of the Fire Kills campaign asking people test their smoke alarms when they change their clocks over the Easter weekend.
A working smoke alarm can buy you and your family the valuable time you need to get out, stay out and call 999.
The Fire Kills campaign is determined to prevent as many deaths as possible and make sure people test their alarms when the clocks change on 31 March.
Many people will already have a list of household tasks and DIY plans for the long weekend, so it’s the perfect opportunity to add this simple quick check on to the list.
Fire Minister Brandon Lewis said:
“The simple act of testing your smoke alarm could save the lives of the ones you love. But a working alarm is something you don’t notice until you need it, and we all know it’s easy to forget to test. That’s why we’re reminding people that it’s time to test, linking the twice-yearly clock change with this simple life-saving step.
“Last year, 1 in 7 people tested their smoke alarms when they changed their clocks. Let’s make it a nationwide habit. The new online video is a powerful reminder to test and I urge everyone to share it with people you know.”
The director of today’s new video, Stevie Russell of Sonny London, said:
“The script was the big draw for me on this project. The subtle ambiguity of the boy’s safety and the visual potential of the burnt house setting was a combination that I knew would translate well to film. I was totally engaged reading the piece and knew that if we found the right boy for the role, we could make something that would really pull the viewer in and get them to take action and test their smoke alarm. Thankfully we had an amazing team who created a beautiful, but tragic, setting and after a fair amount of searching we found a great young actor in Logan Shearer.
“The creative team were fantastic to work with, it was a genuinely collaborative process with us all having a single ambition to make a moving and sincere spot that could help save a life.”
