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On today's programme Radha meets with Gloucestershire Fire+Rescue Service to investigate what particular challenges deaf people face when finding themselves in a house fire and what measures can be put in place to prevent a fire from happening.

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It's estimated that between 2 and 2.5 million fires occur in the UK every year claiming around 500 lives and causing around 14000 injuries.

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In order to raise awareness within the deaf community Gloucestershire Deaf Association in conjunction with Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is running a scheme, which is offering Deaf people community home safety visits to make sure all the alarm equipment is working should there be a fire and to help plan an escape route.

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Most fire alarms are audible, but there are specially designed systems for the Deaf and hard of hearing people.

The alarm system can either be linked up to strobe light or to a vibrating pad to put under the pillow.

The pad is activated by the smoke alarm and the resulting vibration is strong enough to wake a person. A light will simultaneously flash to confirm that the alarm has sounded

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And if you want to find out more about the on going emergency sms trial - a service which lets deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the UK send an SMS text message to the UK 999 service where it will be passed to the police, ambulance, fire & rescue service, please follow this link

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If successful, the scheme will be fully launched during the course of the year...so watch out!

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We also hear the astonishing story of a man in Somerset who was left with irreparable hearing loss after a freak gardening accident.

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When retired civil engineer Mike Watson was mowing the lawn back in May 2008 a tiny twig got stuck in his ear bursting his ear drum.

Mike was rushed to Accident and Emergency with what turned out to be the worst ear damage the doctors had ever seen.

After extensive surgery the doctors managed to reconstruct his damaged inner ear and build a new eardrum to prevent the spread of infection.

Unfortunately the damage to the ear was so severe that as a result of the injury Mike more or less lost all of his hearing in that ear.

It took him many months to recover from his ordeal and to learn how to cope and adapt to hearing in only one ear.

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And we visit Café 55 in Exeter to meet deafblind volunteers in the café preparing food and welcoming Judi Spiers, ´óÏó´«Ã½ radio presenter to the official opening of the café.

Café 55 run by Sense in Exeter is a brand new venture to give deafblind people work experience in the catering trade. It's all about inclusion and much of the kitchen has been adapted for use by people with sensory impairments and people in wheelchairs (with tables and hobs that will raise and lower at the touch of a button). Widget menus are available for deaf customers and there will soon be simple signs depicted on the walls for hearing customers to learn some basic signs.

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Café 55 gives deafblind people the opportunity to understand how business may work, but it also gives them the opportunity to interact with people from the community and from the community people to come in and meet deafblind people.

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If you want to find out more about Sense, the charity for deafblind people,Ìý and their projects, have a look at

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