Oldham Fire Safety: GMFRS 2026 Guide

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has opened free home fire safety assessments to every Oldham household, aiming to cut domestic fires as energy prices push families toward risky heating and cooking shortcuts.

The service has mapped 32,000 fire hydrants across the city-region so crews know exactly where water can be drawn when a blaze breaks out; each visit slots into this network by checking smoke alarms, escape routes, and kitchen safety in one 30-minute appointment.

Alongside home checks, crews are visiting flats to explain new building-safety rules, while businesses are being told GMFRS is now the single Petroleum Enforcing Authority for all Greater Manchester, meaning one inspection can cover both general fire and fuel-storage compliance.

Specialist teams have also added cost-of-living advice to their talks: how to avoid overloading sockets, when to swap candles for battery lights, and why a £30 sprinkler head in a loft conversion can stop a fire before it reaches the staircase.

The same staff run the ACT Early programme, taking referrals from teachers, neighbours, or relatives worried that someone is being drawn into extremism, and they share safeguarding duties with social workers to protect children and vulnerable adults from neglect or abuse.