EVERYONE in Glasgow is needed to join the fight against fire, it was claimed today.

Tomorrow fire bosses launch a hard–hitting campaign with the ambitious target of reducing accidental fire deaths in the city and beyond to zero.

Using serving firefighters to hammer home their message, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue will target the most vulnerable in society.

Lewis Ramsay, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (SFR) Assistant Chief Officer, said: "The first point to make is that we have done really great things in terms of reducing the number of fires within people's homes with cultural, legislative and political changes helping.

"The general feeling is that we have reached rock bottom and there is a core of people who are very hard to reach.

"Those are the ones we need the community's help in targetting.

"Last year there were 2000 accidental fires in homes in Strathclyde and the stark reality is that one fifth of these did not have working smoke alarms.

"We want people to take us up on our offer of a free home fire safety visit."

Backed by the Evening Times, the campaign – the most hard–hitting yet – aims to protect vulnerable groups.

Fire chiefs have identified the elderly as a group particularly needing help.

They are also reaching out to people who drink heavily, smoke or lead chaotic lifestyles that could lead to accidents in the home.

And they are seeking help from the whole community to make sure their message hits home.

In a poll of local communities two in three people said they knew their neighbours – but most had never thought of contacting SFR for fire prevention advice.

The new campaign – Join the Fight Against Fire – is a "call to action" for everyone living in the Strathclyde region.

Fire officers want residents to take advantage of free home fire safety visits that will see fire fighters visit homes to fit smoke alarms and give advice.

And the visits are not just for householders – concerned neighbours can help arrange visits for other community members they believe to be at risk.

Although they are descreasing year on year, 2300 accidental house fires still claimed 22 lives in Strathclyde last year and caused more than 500 injuries.

Mr Ramsay and his team now want to slash the number of deaths to zero.

And they hope their new five–month campaign, which will run until January, is the key to success.

As well as three new adverts featuring working fire fighters, they will also rerun last year's highly successful series of ads.

Station Commander Scott Kennedy is one of the officers from 2011's campaign who will see his advert back on the small screen.

He said: "The fact they are running our adverts again this year the biggest indication that our appeals were successful and we hope they can have the same impact again this year.

"Accidental fire deaths can be prevented by working smoke alarms. It's so easy to get us to come out and help and it's free.

"It's just trying to get that message across, which we hope we can do."

The new adverts will focus on the role of family, friends and neighbours in identifying vulnerable people in our communities and keeping them safe.

One will have a particular emphasis on the elderly and how they can be properly supported in the community.

And there will be a tough message shared around bonfire night when the number of incidents dealt with by fire crews can double.

Statistics show that many fire victims live alone and often suffer from poor health, including mental health issues, or are heavy smokers and heavy drinkers.

Officers also hope to share information about the role of the modern fire service and how it works with other agencies to put support in place for vulnerable groups.

For example, firefighters can contact social services or the local housing association after a home fire safety visit if they feel the resident needs extra help.

Mr Ramsay added: "It could even be something simple like noticing that the paving slabs are broken outside the home of an elderly resident and contacting the council to ask them to be fixed.

"It's not always directly related to the fire service but everything can help."

catriona.stewart@eveningtimes.co.uk

l Tomorrow – meet the firefighters who are the faces of the new campaign