The risk of fire is among the top concerns for homeowners.

To reduce the risk of ever having to claim on your fire insurance, follow these top tips for fire prevention in the home:

• Make sure you have at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home, and test the batteries once a week. Never remove the batteries without replacing them.
• Check your electrical equipment regularly for exposed wiring, cracks or other damage, and get faults repaired quickly.
• Use only the correct gauge of fuse in your plugs and fuse box.
• Don't overload your power supply – try to keep not more than one plug per socket.
• If you're out of the house for more than 24 hours, unplug all unnecessary appliances
• If faced with hot oil on fire, for example in a chip-pan, never throw water onto the flames – starve the fire of oxygen by putting the lid on the pan, or covering it with a thick damp cloth.
• Keep matches and saucepans on the hob out of reach of children.
• Before you go to bed, shut doors around your house where possible. This will contain fires for longer if one breaks out when you are asleep.

For more on fire safety in the home, see the Fire Kills website at http://firekills.direct.gov.uk/index.html