The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has teamed up with construction company, the Kier Group, to train its gas fitters to install smoke alarms in the area.

It is part of an initiative that aims to see more than 4,000 homes in North Tyneside fitted with the systems over the next 18 months while they undergo maintenance.

A total of 25 gas fitters from Kier North Tyneside - a repairs and maintenance branch of Kier that works with North Tyneside Council – will receive instruction. As part of North Tyneside Homes’ annual programme of inspections, the gas fitters will check newly installed systems as well as those already in place in around 10,000 homes yearly.

District manager for North Tyneside, Mick Neilsen, said: "We're delighted to be working with North Tyneside Homes on this project.  It makes sense to join forces and train the staff who are already going into these homes. The relationship that they have with the occupiers and the fact that they will be returning on an annual basis to check gas fittings will bring real benefits.

Ian Conway, head of North Tyneside Homes, said: “We take the health and safety of our tenants seriously and we can not only ensure that the gas appliances are serviced to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning but we can also help improve fire safety at the same time. The partnership with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service is great news for our tenants and it makes perfect sense fitting the smoke alarms whilst our gas fitters are in the home anyway.”