Flood Clean Up Advice From Fire Service

Following the Boxing Day floods and with the threat of more heavy rain from Storm Frank during Wednesday and Thursday (30th & 31st December) West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has issued a set of guidelines for people who are affected.

• Make sure the property is safe before you enter. - Try to avoid direct contact with any flood water which remains, as it may be contaminated. - Be prepared, have a torch at hand when entering the property and do not use candles. - Switch off the electricity supply at the fuse box, if it is safe to do so. - Arrange for other services, such as gas, to be turned off. The electricity and gas supplies should remain off until you are sure it is safe to turn them back on. - Contact your insurance company and, if applicable, your landlord, to tell them what has happened and to get advice and take instruction. Do not throw away any of your contents unless you are instructed to do so by your insurance company.

Never do the following once the flood water has subsided:

• Use candles to guide you when entering the property. - Use any powered electrical appliances in the areas affected by the flood until advised that it is safe to do so. - Go near any exposed wiring, as it may still be live. - Start to clean up or undertake repairs until you are sure it is safe to do so.

Cleaning up:

• Make sure that the area damaged by the flood is safe for the clean-up and repairs to start. - Seek professional advice about the restoration of your property, before clean up commences. - For insurance purposes, take as many photos of the damage before you try to clean up and/or do any repair work and keep records. - Contact your service providers, such as, telephone, cable TV, and intruder alarm companies if applicable. - Make sure you wear adequate protective clothing. - Unplug damaged electrical appliances and move all portable ones away from the area damaged by the flood.

Area Manager Ian Bitcon said: “The flooding across West Yorkshire and the rest of the North of England over the last few days has been nothing other than catastrophic and our sympathies are with everyone who has suffered, particularly given that it happened at a time when people are celebrating. We have seen tremendous resilience from the community at large with people coming out in droves to help others and are proud to play our part in that both during the emergency itself, but also in helping people return to some sort of normality. Crews; including our Control room staff, have worked tirelessly and we have seen some real acts of bravery in the face of very real dangers.

“We are asking people to be aware of the risk at the moment and even just a few hours rain could severely affect the water levels. When people are going back into their homes and businesses, we ask that they make sure that they do so safely”.

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