Make the surroundings of your home safer:

• Limit vegetation, brush regularly, especially in dry weather. If you keep a garden, be sure to follow a few safety rules:

- Your plants should not be more than 50cm tall;

- If you have trees, establish a minimum distance of 5m between each;

- Make sure you have terraces or walls, which could stop the spread of a fire;

- Clean dead and dry leaves regularly.

• Keep your firewood stack in a specially designed fire-proof room, more than 10m from your home where possible.
• If your garden furniture is made of wood, make it fire retardant.
• Lock all your flammable products (petrol, gas canisters, paint, household products etc.) in a fire-proof room.

Things to know before building:

There are solutions and precautions to be taken to build a home that is more resistant to the risk of fire. This is especially the case if you build near a wooded area.

This includes choosing the following materials:

• Stone, brick, stucco and concrete rather than non-fire retardant wood, plastic and synthetic resin.
• Use sealed tiles rather than metal or fibro-cement for your roof.
• Double glazing.
• Avoid wood for your shutters.

Seek proper advice from your contractor, depending on your location and your exposure to risk.

In the event of a fire:

• Call 112 (single emergency number in Luxembourg).
• Make it easier for fire-fighters to arrive by opening your gate.
• Get out of your house.

To limit the spread:

• Move wooden garden furniture as far away from the fire as possible at the start.
• Use a garden hose or other outdoor water supply to moisten the garden walls and outer parts of the house as much as possible. Flames spread less quickly in moisture.