Episode 6: Safety during Ramadan

In Episode 6, we speak to  Community Safety Advisors Faz and Farzana and discuss safety during Ramadan. 

This celebration is held during the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Ramadan marks a time of fasting for Muslims all over the world. People who observe Ramadan abstain from food and drink from dawn until dusk, only eating one meal before sunrise and another after sunset. This year it is approximately celebrated from the evening of 10th March until 9th April, with Eid being celebrated around the 11th April.

Together we discuss what their Ramadan celebrations look like with their families, advice on how to stay safe in the kitchen whilst cooking and the importance of having a working smoke alarm and an evacuation plan.

For more information about safety during Ramadan, please visit  www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/ramadan. If you'd like to book a home fire safety check, please visit  www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/home-fire-safety 

And remember if you liked our episode, please like and subscribe and let’s make Lancashire safer together.

Transcript

[00:00:05.290] - Host (Lucinda)
Welcome to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service's podcast series, Out of the Ashes: Stories from Lancashire. In this episode, we'll be talking safety during Ramadan. This celebration is held during the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Ramadan marks a time of fasting for Muslims all over the world. People who observe Ramadan abstain from food and drink from dawn until dusk, only eating one meal before sunrise and another after sunset. This year it is approximately celebrated from the evening of 10 March until 9 April, with Eid being celebrated around the 11 April. The specific dates will depend on the sunset hours. 

[00:00:43.980] - Host (Lucinda)
Today I'll be talking to community safety advisor Faz and Farzana. So you both participate in Ramadan and what do your celebrations look like? Do you prepare for the fasting? 

[00:00:57.910] - Farzana
Yeah, I do a lot of preparation before Ramadan. However, you know, just to make my life easier when I am working, I do work full time and by the time I come home, I am obviously tired because I've been working throughout the day and due to the lack of sleep. So I do a lot of preparation, especially savouries. I make a lot of samosas, pastries, rolls, spring rolls and additional stuff. Even marinating in a chicken and putting it in the freezer. That is purely because it's just easier for me during Ramadan and with the tasks I have to do when I do come back from work, I like to concentrate on praying, you see, when I come back, and just taking some time out for myself before I go into the kitchen to make the main meal.

[00:01:43.230] - Faz
So in my household, or in any Muslim household, usually the month of Ramadan is a very busy time. It's a time of the Muslim community to actually look forward to. Personally, in my house, we look forward as the day we count the days towards the month of Ramadan begins. And usually, we put decorations up or candles, tea, light candles, just to make sure as the month of Ramadan approaches. And yes, it is going to be a very, very busy time 

[00:02:09.560] - Farzana
You know, it just feels for me, When I start preparing, I know I'm preparing for Ramadan and nothing else, even though I do my daily meals before Ramadan. It's just that additional factor of knowing that I'm actually preparing and getting prep things ready. And for me, that's a celebration. It is additional work because I'm having to do the preparing as well as living day to day life and ensuring everything's all right at home. However, it is celebration and it's a beautiful time of the time of the year. And I always feel that I'm very lucky to be a part of it. 

[00:02:46.760] - Host (Lucinda)
I know that individuals fast throughout the day and there's a special meal to break the fast. And it's iftar. 

[00:02:54.090] - Farzana
It is. Yes, it is iftar. I think, like I said, the preparations, like I said beforehand, like making the samosa, sprinkles and pastries and things like that, that's what we start our main meal with. It feels rushed at the beginning because you want to open your fast. And then we pray and then we have our main meal. 

[00:03:17.450] - Faz
So as Farzana mentioned, in the month of Ramadan, our day starts in the evening after sunset. That's the way our month of Ramadan and our Islamic month starts. The Muslims community will be breaking their fast, like you said, as Iftari and Farzana mentioned, iftari will break the fast with dates. And now we're going towards the healthy living as well. The healthy living. And the National Health Service is doing a fantastic job in marketing healthy breaking the fast. So, yes, we will be breaking the fast either at our houses, at our local mosque, with families, it is going to be a busy time. In my household, we tend to break the fast with dates, water and some fruit. Then after that, what happens is we break the fast. We have a congregational prayers called the sunset prayers. And then after that, as a family, we all break the fast together. It is a time of family meeting, family, loved ones, inviting friends. And for the next 29 to 30 days, we will be inviting our loved ones, our friends, our neighbours, our families, our colleagues, to our houses, to our places of worship to break the fast. 

[00:04:19.970] - Faz
And then what tends to happen is in the evening, we then tend to have a congregational prayers known as the Isaiah salad. The night prayers. I do thank the fire service for accommodating the Muslim staff and colleagues, because our day starts in a very different way. So the eleven months we might be starting at 08:00 in the morning after dropping the kids off, but in the month of Ramadan, everything changes. Our home fire safety checks changes. We tend to work mostly, sometimes in the evenings or late at night. For me personally, I then tend to work late at night, targeting audiences to give out some key five safety messages which in other eleven months it wouldn't. 

[00:04:57.390] - Farzana
I save my annual leave and I ensure that I've got enough that I can take during Ramadan as well. The reason why I do that is because, just so my body gets used to not eating and drinking. From my experiences working during Ramadan, it's basically I do get very cold. My mind doesn't focus as it should, and my manager, my team leader is aware of that situation and she obviously basically said, you do what you need to do during Ramadan. So, yeah, what Faz said, you know, the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have an understanding. And for me to communicate that is important as well, because if I didn't communicate that, they wouldn't know. And that's something I tend to do. 

[00:05:42.610] - Host (Lucinda)
As much preparation that you can do can help you enjoy your Ramadan celebrations to the full. 

[00:05:48.190] - Farzana
It is and the celebrations is not just about the fasting, it's about having time, enough time to pray, enough time to rest, enough time to just focus your time and your family. And like Faz said before, it's not just about your immediate family that it's about the community, it's about the friends and people that you don't see on a daily basis. You want to even drop some food off or just go and say hello. And Ramadan is a month where we do give a lot of charity as well, and we do it throughout the year, but we do tend to give more during Ramadan because it's one of our commandments. 

[00:06:27.280] - Faz
Suddenly what will happen is say we finish work at four o'clock or five o'clock you will then see as this March 10 or 11th Ramadan begins, the sunset will be about six o'clock approximately, and people will realise, hang on, this is so busy. There's cars, there's people going to the mosque, there's people dressed up in their thobes going to pray. And suddenly people will realise that it is the month of Ramadan. Even if you go to the supermarkets, they've got promotions on Ramadan. 

[00:06:54.200] - Host (Lucinda)
Yeah, I saw that when I went shopping the other day. There was quite a lot of Ramadan cooking and Ramadan safety. 

[00:07:01.190] - Faz
And thanks to yourself from the communications department, that we've got cooking leaflets. So people realise the dangers of oil, chip pan fire, oil fire, because there will be a lot of fried food taking place. As Farzana mentioned, that it is going to be a very, very hectic time. 

[00:07:15.290] - Farzana
It is hectic. Faz, I'm glad you picked up on that because I've done some work about Ramadan safety before Ramadan. I know Faz has done absolute fantastic work as well, and that is all preparation. I can sit here and say, well, this is what I do in my home. But within our work life, we're preparing the community, we're ensuring that the community is safe. And they know about the consequences of fire if they don't keep themselves safe. And that, for us, working in the service that we work for is not just about us. It's about everybody else within the community. 

[00:07:53.430] - Faz
And sometimes what happens is, as Farzana mentioned, when we go out and deliver these programmes and talk about real situation, you will notice people think, oh, yes, I can't do this, I can't do that. Yes, this is dangerous. It's just little, little things, because what tends to happen just to take you on a Iftari time. So this year, when the sunset, when the Iftari happens, five o'clock we will put our Dastarkhān or our table ready, there will be dates ready, family will be cooking, even ourselves. We all help out and being a carer as well. There's other things as well. There's kids finishing from school, you've got to pick up the kids, this praying time taking place. And basically what tends to happen, you've got all this frying stuff happening and it's just every single day there's different, different dishes. And it's not that one of the other things is in your neighbourhood, you will as well. 

[00:08:42.070] - Farzana
Then you're dropping food off because they've dropped it off for you. So you're not only. You know, when I talked about the community 

[00:08:46.740] - Host (Lucinda)
its very important
 

[00:08:47.030] - Farzana
giving them food, that's what we do. 

[00:08:50.220] - Faz
It's like, so Lucinda, yourself, if you're living next door, you'll get loads of food from my house. And then Farzana, if she's living, she'll get food. 

[00:08:55.974] - Host (Lucinda)
This sounds fabulous 

[00:08:56.006] - Farzana
It is, its, really good, it's really good. It is really good.

[00:09:00.910] - Faz
There's lots of food. There's a lot of pots and chip mean, that cooker. And this is where you've got mobile phones, people. And plus we have a lot of relatives in Lancashire, we have a lot of relatives from the sub asian continent as well. So they're about three, four hours ahead of us. Then you've got. So basically they want to talk to your loved ones. It's like we now have a video calling. So this Internet, this social media, people are on the mobile phones. While many different things are happening, so many things are happening 

[00:09:26.870] - Host (Lucinda)
You're listening a lot of fire risks and a lot of distractions.

[00:09:30.930] - Faz
Distractions.

[00:09:31.760] - Host (Lucinda)
What are your tips for minimising the fire risks whilst you are doing this preparation for your wonderful food. It sounds amazing, but obviously, like you said, there's a lot going on in that kitchen.

[00:09:44.900] - Faz
oh yes,

[00:09:45.190] - Host (Lucinda)
There's a lot of different people in that kitchen. There's different risks, such as children running around. You've listed, obviously phones are a big distraction nowadays. Have you got any tips for the listeners to minimise those risks whilst they're cooking?

 
[00:10:00.010] - Faz
The biggest causes of fires is in the kitchen where the fire starts, and in my house, I make sure the kids don't run around. So before the month of Ramadan, or even now, I tell them not to just go around in kitchen. So what I tend to do is make sure they do their homework or play with their games or something. And it is difficult sometimes. I don't like my children to actually just hog on onto their Playstation, but I do. In the month of Ramadan, I do tend to give them an extra hour.

[00:10:28.810] - Farzana
Give them the tablets and sit down.

[00:10:30.510] - Host (Lucinda)
Provide them with the distractions so they're not your distractions, I like that.

[00:10:36.170] - Faz
Small things, because what tends to happen is it is a very busy not only bringing cooking, but bringing the food into the main room as well. Then you'll have friends coming over as well.

[00:10:47.970] - Farzana
People are knocking on your door, so you are constantly opening the door. Obviously, if you don't have children in the home, because like Faz said, for my family, males usually go to the mosques before they open their fast. So for example, it's just me and my daughter and my little boy at home and they open the door for me. However, if they're doing something, then I'm going to open the front door. So it's like Faz said, if you do have people knocking on your front door, ensure that you turn it off before you go. Especially for example, if you fry some samosas and you've got hot oil on it is going to get heated up. Your samosas are going to get burned, so they're ruined. However, obviously there can be a fire. The other thing as well is if.

[00:11:31.720] - Faz
You get called away from the kitchen, it's best to either turn the cooker off and turn it down. That is the most important thing because you will get. Seriously, where I live in my neighbourhood, I usually get loads of food dropped off. So if the sun sets at six o'clock, by five o'clock you will get food coming to your house from everyone.

[00:11:49.170] - Farzana
The other thing as well is, like I said before, a structure is so important and time management, ensuring that things are done before you go into the kitchen, if you can, that's not always going to happen, but having that structure and time management is very important and taking things slow, ensuring that you've got smoke alarms in the property to alert if anything does happen. But if you've got pans and pots on your cooker, making sure the handles are not sticking out, they move towards the side. So if you are rushing, which it can easily be done, you can knock it over, especially if it's hot oil as well. It's just simple things to be mindful of and to be aware of. Just don't leave anything near the cooker and just keep it clean and clear at all times.

[00:12:35.970] - Faz
So, Ramadan, it is a time of celebration. However, as a community chappie as well, I do tend to go out and meet my elderly people in my community, people who are lonely as well, because there's so many people loneliness. So it's also good to checkup on the lonely elderly people as well in our. They don't have no families, they don't have no loved ones, so it's also good to actually see them as well. I remember an incident a long time ago where an elderly person, he was trying to cook some few samosas, just himself, it was frail. So we then realised that that can be danger as well. So we've got to take so many things into consideration. But what's happening in the last couple of years is our messages of the prevention is very, very important. It's important to have a working smoke alarm, because people don't realise that the smoke alarm is there to save you.

[00:13:22.770] - Farzana
It should be working. There's no point having a smoke alarm and it's not working. So just test it. I say test it every four weeks just to make sure that you've got a working smoke alarm. It's not about having a smoke alarm.

[00:13:34.650] - Faz
I know Farzana will talk about, but loose clothing.

[00:13:39.019] - Host (Lucinda)
I was just about to say this

[00:13:39.190] - Faz
We've been to many places where people actually burn themselves, but don't contact the fire service. One of the biggest issues that we're facing, sometimes things happen because imagine you've got one pot, Karai, one chip pan, one small pond, one big pot, and there's a lot of things going on.

[00:13:56.000] - Farzana
Sometimes the clothing that we wear is very flammable

[00:13:58.550] - Farzana
And you know Faz touched on, loose clothing mentioned before that your body does tend to get really cold during Ramadan, and that is because you're fasting and you've not had enough sleep. And like Faz said, our night begins when we open our fast at sunset. And, for example, my mum, she stays awake until sunrise, so she won't sleep at all. My sister in law doesn't sleep at all. I'll try and get a couple of hours because I'm working. However, a lot of people in the communities, you know that's their daytime. That is their daytime, and it is busier. Like Faz said, people are around, and if you've got an open gas fire and your cold, just make sure that you're away from it. It's important that people understand that this information, because if you are wearing flammable clothing. It is going to stick to your body very quickly and it is going to burn very quickly, so just stay away from that. Obviously there's concerns around kitchen and the cooking safety, but this is important too.

[00:15:00.660] - Host (Lucinda)
Would you advise people to tie back their loose clothing?

[00:15:03.750] - Farzana
I would, yes. If you are in the home and you're not going out, if you've got a Jubbas on, just take it off. A Jubbas is basically, it's like a full long dress that people wear in my community, and it is very flammable. You get sleeves now, which are quite loose, so they're kind of wing sleeves, and you've got a headscarf on as well. So it's ensuring that if you are wearing a headscarf, just put an apron on. Just make sure it's not hanging at the back. If you've got an apron on, it's tied up. If not, just tie it, knot it at the back so it's not moving around when you are walking, when you're cooking, when you need the gas fire. And the other thing as well is the sleeves. It's important that your sleeves are rolled up. If you can. If you can't, just use a hair bobble, whatever, an elastic band, just put it on your sleeve and then roll it up. It just kind of minimises a risk. It minimises the risks of you getting burnt or having a fire in the property. And we've talked about this quite a few times, me and Faz, when we're doing our talks in the communities, is not a lot of people know that only thing you've got to do is stop, drop and roll.

[00:16:16.750] - Farzana
That's important as well. If something set fire, especially your clothing, what you tend to do is run around and that is going to make the fire, it's going to increase the speed of the fire. So it's important that the people that are listening and the community are aware that if it does happen, just stop, drop and roll and call the fire service.

[00:16:36.000] - Host (Lucinda)
You mentioned before, both of you people aren't ringing the fire service. Do you want to explain the importance of what we want to do? We want to help people, don't we? If they need us in that time of need, the most important thing is to ring us, isn't it?

[00:16:51.490] - Faz
What we're doing is we're trying to explain to the community, saying that if there's a fire, even if it's a small fire, it's always good to contact the fire service. Why? Because we collect the information, evidence, and also making sure that our communities are safe. Sometimes people think that we don't want to waste the fire service time. And that's the biggest answers that we get when we ask them. Why don't you call the fire service? Because last year we went to a place in Preston where an elderly lady, she had a fire, she had a burnt mark on her hair. And we realised that she's already in a fire. But we asked her what happened. So she said that she had a chip pan fire and she never rang the fire service, she never went to the doctors, but she went to the pharmacist and she bought a cream, antibiotic cream. And it was interesting to find out why she never contacted the fire. And she said that she never wanted to waste the time of the fire service. And this is why it's very, very important that even if you have a small fire, we have to call the fire service.

[00:17:49.060] - Faz
And this is where we're actually shifting to make sure that we actually educate. The education is very, very important. And the good thing about the fire service is, yes, the month of Ramadan will start approximately on the 10th or the 11th. But we've already launched our fire service campaign since three months ago, making sure that the communities, elderly, the vulnerable, youngsters, we're targeting the mosque, the madrasas, the universities, the centres, communities everywhere, and working with partnerships, making sure that we give the key fire safety messages. And yes, because of more information, more education, people are calling the fire service for smoke alums. Just a couple of weeks ago we went to western, to Farzana's area, where we actually worked with a lot of communities, diverse communities in continent.

[00:18:32.220] - Farzana
For me, there are lots of refugees, wasn't there as well. And most of the refugees that I've come across, they don't even know that they've got to call the number 999, for example, to call the fire service. And it's just giving that information out as well. The question you asked, why do people not report it? And it is, when I spoke to a large amount of women in the eastern area last year, it was basically that they don't want to trouble anybody. They feel as if it's not a massive thing. They can control the fire themselves and just take responsibility for that. The other thing I picked up as well is shame. A lot of people don't want other people to know that this is what's happened and it's simple things like that. But however, it's important that people, the listeners that are listening, are aware that we want to keep you and your family safe. That's the only thing, and if you call us out, we can give you advice. If there's obviously not much going on, if you don't have a smoke alarm, smoke alarm, we can put one in straight away.

[00:19:42.650] - Farzana
The firefighters are not walking away. They are going to put a smoke alarm up and they'll sit there and talk to you if needed. And then we, as community safety advisors, then go out and talk about evacuation plans if needed as well. So there's quite a few things that we can support the listeners with and it's just having the understanding that we are there as support.

[00:20:05.720] - Host (Lucinda)
Yeah. Our main role is we want to make the whole of Lancashire safe and we don't want. No one is a burden.

[00:20:11.850] - Farzana
No.

[00:20:12.850] - Host (Lucinda)
So, like you say, the importance is it's 999. And if you need us, we'll be there. And if you need some advice, we can also provide that advice. Whether it's big, small or a smoke alarm being fitted, we are there.

[00:20:26.870] - Faz
Like you said, Lucinda, I think it's important also to make sure that with regards to what sort of communities, we've run campaigns on Christmas safety, on Diwali safety, working with our Jewish community, working with the Hindu community and across all communities of Lancashire, we want to make sure that everyone's safe. And the thing is, what brings the fine service ahead is the diversity, the diverse communities that we have in Lancashire, from one side of Lancashire to another side of Lancashire, the richness of diversity that we celebrate. And as the month of Ramadan comes, there will be a lot of listeners who will be listening to this, who have never been to an Iftari event, who have never been to a mosque or sat down and breaking the fast. And the fire service is good in this, because basically, over the years, our fire service colleagues, everyone, did sometimes go to a local mosque and break the fast. And that's when they realised that, hang on, this is what's happening. This is what's happening. And the good thing about is when you break the fast, you will meet a lot of people who will actually share their experiences firsthand, saying, oh, yes, this is what happened.

[00:21:28.590] - Faz
But it's not only the sunset. Another thing is, when I mentioned is the night congregational prayers, we also touch on driving. Driving is a big, massive issue. And as Ramadan comes to an end, we celebrate the celebration of Idl Fitr and the fire service. We talk about road safety, making sure that youngsters do drive safe, the importance of wearing a seatbelt, making sure that people adhere to speed limits, and also it's a day of celebration.

[00:22:03.390] - Host (Lucinda)
I was about to say. Do you want to explain to listeners what Eid is and what it looks like? Because obviously people that don't observe Ramadan, it's just a day of celebrations. But to your communities, it's a very important occasion. And I think understanding what the day looked like may help understand why there's road safety.

[00:22:26.870] - Faz
We, as Ramadan, has 29 to 30 days, everything comes to an end. And when everything comes to an end, there's something to look forward to. So in our religion, in our faith, we have 30 days of fasting from sunrise till sunset. And then once the Ramadan comes to an end, we have a three days of fasting known as Eid al-Fitr. It's a time where families and loved ones come together. We offer an extra prayers in the morning rather than fasting. The following day we have additional congregational prayers, and that's when our celebrations begins. It's a time of thanking God after the month of Ramadan. And also even on these three days, it will be very, very busy time, cooking, people meeting each other. And in our communities, in my household, and I'm sure in Farzana's household, you will have lot of loved ones, families and friends coming to your house. So in instant, in my parents house, you will have lot of people coming because there'll be about 52-100 people just coming around to. And in my household, I'm sure Frazana's family, same, but you will have people just coming along, friends, children and children, they all want a gift.

[00:23:38.990] - Faz
So basically, what's happened now, because of all this media, the children wants presents. So it's more of a very expensive as well.

[00:23:48.090] - Farzana
For us, for my family, Eid, obviously, like Faz said, it's a celebration of knowing and understanding and celebrating the fast that we've completed. And that is a massive thing for the Muslim community. And Eid preparation, I won't say celebration as yet. That is because the preparation starts, for example, ten days beforehand for my family, we start making a lot of sweet stuff, and that's basically to give out to family and friends. So, when we talked about giving food out during Ramadan,

[00:24:27.260] - Host (Lucinda)
it continues into Eid

[00:24:28.290] - Host (Lucinda)
It needs continues. So instead of giving, well, we give out like savoury stuff as well. However, we do a lot of baking and we bake items not just for our family, my family, we bake items for family and friends as well. So basically, that's how we start in my family and then the day before Eid. So once it's announced that it is Eid, the next day, obviously because of the moon signs and everything, we start preparing the meal for Eid itself. So the day before, and like Faz mentioned, in my mum's house, there's over 100 people that walk through that door. However, they don't walk out in all at once.

[00:25:09.090] - Farzana
They come in, eat, and they go. So basically, the table is set throughout the day. It doesn't stop.

[00:25:15.160] - Host (Lucinda)
It's not 100 people at 03:00 p.m. It's 100 people throughout the day.

[00:25:19.620] - Farzana
So my mum basically has a big pot that feeds 100 people. So we make a basic biryani or lamb curry or whatever. So all that's done the night before and then after the  Eid Namaz that we call it Eid prize, that happens in the morning, people start coming in, and it's earliest, it's 10:00 in the morning, and it runs throughout the day until, for example, midnight. So it doesn't stop. It does not stop.

[00:25:47.820] - Host (Lucinda)
It sounds like a very family filled. It is celebration of the past month.

[00:25:53.920] - Faz
Yeah. What we've done is we've completely changed the way. We also advise families because to take something into consideration, the Easter holidays, where families will come for sleepovers in the month of Ramadan. So what we've also done now is we actually do a bespoke advice escape plan to families. Because you'll have grandchildren, families, kids coming over to people's houses, just making sure that it's important that people understand the escape.

[00:26:20.150] - Host (Lucinda)
Yeah. How to get out.

[00:26:21.440] - Faz
And that is something. It's really good that when we go out to people's houses, and I've been to so many houses like fazana, where not only we give them a bespoke confine civic cheque, but an escape plan, because there's so many people who expect their grandchildren to come along and making sure they'll be staying. So working together. So it's not only just escape plan, but sometimes a lot of grandparents is that I'm looking forward to this, to working with my grandchild to have an escape plan. So I think it's also that bonding ship as well.

[00:26:46.260] - Host (Lucinda)
Make it like an activity.

[00:26:48.350] - Faz
Yeah, activity, yeah. So we've seen that as well, where grandparents are happy or looking forward for their grandchildren, like a family activity, making sure they know the smoke alarm, the escape plan, what to do, electricity.

[00:27:00.400] - Farzana
You know, people need to be aware that it's okay to have an extension lead. However, don't put an extension lead on top of an extension lead. So we call that Daisy chaining, and that's overloading your sockets as well. Evacuation plans like Faz mentioned before, we have a bespoke sleepover leaflet that we give out as well when we go out and do a home fire safety check visit. And it is for people that are coming to stay.

[00:27:23.870] - Host (Lucinda)
It's important for everyone in the house, whether you live there or you're visiting, to know how to get out, because if the worst case scenario happened, you want to get out as quickly as possible, don't you?

[00:27:35.010] - Farzana
Yeah. So it's important that as a family who are staying in that house during the night, whether it's family and friends as well, is having an evacuation plan.

[00:27:45.010] - Faz
Yeah. Ramadan is going to be a very busy time, not only in Lancashire, but if you're listening across the United Kingdom, across the world, this will be very busy. You know what I mean? It is going to be a very busy time for the Muslim community.

[00:27:55.900] - Host (Lucinda)
I think we've discussed a lot, a lot. And I think it's been very helpful for myself to understand what Ramadan is and how it is for people in your communities. But you've also touched on a lot of safety advice. What is the biggest tip or takeaway you want the listeners today Farzana?

[00:28:15.310] - Farzana
if you've not had a home fire safety check, please book one, even if you've got a smoke alarm, we can give you advice and we can ensure that you've got the right advice to keep yourself safe in your home.

[00:28:26.920] - Host (Lucinda)
And Faz, your biggest takeaway.

[00:28:29.070] - Faz
Yeah, I think the biggest takeaway, if you're listening to this podcast, it's all about breaking down barriers. I think this is a fantastic opportunity where people can understand what Ramadan is all about. And yes, if you've got neighbours, if you've got friends, colleagues who are going to fast, ask them to join in the celebrations, and yes, they will be invited to the local mosque, to the houses. And it's all about breaking down the barriers and this sort of.

[00:28:50.540] - Farzana
And I think it's about sharing the knowledge and giving the listeners an understanding as well, is how to keep themselves safe.

[00:28:58.050] - Host (Lucinda)
Well, thank you very much for your time today. I've really appreciate you sharing your stories.

[00:29:03.470] - Farzana
Thank you.

[00:29:05.450] - Host (Lucinda)
For more information about Ramadan safety, please head to our website on www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/ramadan 

[00:29:15.320] - Host (Lucinda)
The link will be in the episode notes below. And remember, if you liked our episodes, please like and subscribe. And let's make Lancashire safer together.