How safe is your home? You could be reading this thinking 'I have a smoke alarm and I don't overload my plug sockets so I'm doing everything right'.

But it might not be as safe as you think...

Jenni was visited by fire safety experts

I invited Kent Fire and Rescue (KFRS) into my home for a fire safety visit and it has made me realise there are a lot more things I can do to keep my family safe.

Station leader Neil Ryder carried out the visit at my property in Sittingbourne.

The first thing he spoke about was smoke alarms – do I have them and do I test them? We have one downstairs and one upstairs but I had to admit, apart from accidentally setting off the one in the hallway when I'm cooking, I never test them. Which is silly really as it takes seconds.

You should have at least one smoke alarm on every floor of your home and KFRS advise testing them every week on "Test it Tuesday" as they call it. If you can't reach it, you can press the test button with something like a wooden spoon.

We have gas central heating so Neil also checked we have a carbon monoxide alarm and advised moving it closer to the boiler.

The next topic on the safety check list was kitchen safety which included keeping your hob clear and not getting distracted when cooking.

If like me, you tend to flit from cooking to checking on the kids or getting other jobs done around the house, Neil advised setting a timer to make sure your pan doesn't run dry and burn if you get distracted.

As we were talking – Neil spotted I had a small hand-held vacuum on charge in the kitchen. He said appliances like these, and charging units for batteries like those you get with cordless vacuums, should not be left on charge when you are out of the house – and I had to admit I leave mine on charge all the time.

The advice also covered things like socket safety, flammable materials, fuse boxes and candles.

But the most eye-opening was the topic of night-time routines. How many of us charge our phones up at night? Or leave the dishwasher on when we go to bed?

I do both of those because they are convenient – but they could cause a fire. Neil said the majority of fires in the home start at night.

KFRS advise to make sure the washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher are off, and to switch off all electrical items at the socket – and that's not just mobile phone chargers, that is everything.

You should close all internal doors too – something we never do as we have a dog so we make sure she can get to her water in the kitchen. But Neil made me think – it would take seconds to move her bowl into the hall at night on my way to bed and this means we could shut the kitchen door where a fire is most likely to start.

Part of your bedtime routine is also about having an escape plan in case of a fire. This is not something I have given much thought to – but I definitely will from now on.

Front door keys should be kept where you can find them easily and if windows are locked upstairs, keep a key for them near your bed.

We are often told not to take our phones to bed with us to stop us looking at it at night-time. In fact I think there is a TV advert for better mental health showing a woman leaving it at the bottom of the stairs. But then how would you call 999 if there was a fire?

You should in fact take your phone with you to bed every night – you can turn it off to stop you scrolling through Facebook.

When you call 999, the call handler will be able to speak to you about closing doors and using duvets or blankets to block out smoke. They will stay on the line until a fire crew arrives.

If you have young children you should speak to them about what to do if they hear the smoke alarm going off during the night – the advice from KFRS is to tell a child to stay in their room and let mummy or daddy come to them.

You should think about how you would get out if it is not safe to go out the front or back door. Do you have a ledge like a porch roof that you can get to? Can you open your windows wide enough to climb out – if they have a catch to open them wider do you know how to use it?

These were all things Neil could offer advice on and he was able to look upstairs and talk through my escape route with me.

A fire in the home is a frightening thing to think about, especially if you have mobility issues or young children but KFRS don't want to frighten people, they just want people to be prepared.

KFRS will be knocking on doors on Thursday offering safety checks similar to the one I had.

Hundreds of uniformed firefighters and colleagues from every team in the service will be knocking on as many doors as they can, offering people a free home fire safety visit.

Each visit will take around 10 minutes to complete, during which time the firefighter will test, relocate or install smoke alarms where needed, advise residents what they can do to prevent fires, and answer any questions.

Their mission is to test and install as many smoke alarms as possible in one day after figures revealed nearly a quarter of households in Kent and Medway don’t have working smoke alarms.

Dad-of-two Dinesh Thapa is one resident who has recently had a visit from KFRS.

Firefighters carried out a safety check at his house in Maidstone where he lives with wife Manju, their young children, and his elderly father.

The crews checked the family’s smoke alarms were working and positioned correctly, before chatting through the safety advice I had been given.

Dinesh said the most useful advice he was given was making sure his sons, four-year-old Diyan and two-year-old Delvian, know what to do in the event of a fire.

He said: “The crew told us lots of useful information, including advice that I hadn’t really considered before.

“I’m definitely going to speak to my sons about what to do if ever a fire started and explain what the smoke alarms are there for."

So my advice is, if a firefighter comes knocking on your door on Thursday offering you a free safety visit, then say yes. It doesn't take long and it could save your life.

You can also pre-book a visit if you are aged over 70, have dementia, have a long term health condition, have young children or are pregnant, or if you smoke. Call the team on 0800 923 7000 to find out more.