FIRE prevention remains a top priority for Lancashire Fire and Rescue, who will visit over 20,000 vulnerable households in the coming year.

Peter Holland, chief fire officer, announced his intention to visit 27,000 homes in the region. He said: "The Authority is not content simply to maintain our present high levels of performance but intends to improve them, to ensure even greater fire safety in Lancashire.

"Part of our strategy to achieve this is to increase the number of home fire safety check visits we make to households, where firefighters identify hazards such as overloaded electrical sockets and clothes left to dry too near to heaters.

"Helping the householder devise a fire escape plan and learning how to survive if trapped by fire can become lifesaving advice.

"Because a smoke detector provides the essential early warning of a fire to enable those in the home to make their escape, firefighters will fit one for free during a home fire safety check if the home is not already equipped."