Aico RFD manual Fire Risk Where do Fires START?, WHO is Most AT RISK?

FIRE RISK -

WHERE DO FIRES START?

Just over half of all fatalities occur in the room where the fire breaks out; in HMOs, this rises to 60%. The Code notes that, in the United Kingdom, some 40% of all fatal fires start in living rooms or dining rooms, whereas 30% of fatal fires start in bedrooms. For this reason, the Code recommends that if alarms are to be installed within rooms, the living room and the dining room should be the first priority. However, this consideration could be reversed if the bedroom presents a particular fire risk, such as the occupant smoking in bed or using an electric blanket.

The Code also specifically warns that occupants – especially those asleep and/or with a closed door between them and the alarm - may not hear the alarm in time. It stresses that it is ‘therefore essential that fire detection and fire alarm systems are capable of operating correctly when occupants are asleep and are capable of rousing occupants from normal sleep.’ This is another reason why - if there is a significant fire risk in a particular room - consideration should be given to installing alarms in that room - and interlinking the entire system.

After kitchen fires and electrical appliances and wiring, smoking continues to be the next most common cause of accidental fires in the home. However, it is the number one cause of fire deaths. Around 40% of all fire deaths are caused through matches or a discarded cigarette (the figure was

33% in1995 when the Code was first published). In most cases, the item ignited is bedding or furniture. If occupants are known to smoke, there is a greater need to install smoke alarms in the living room or dining room areas. If the occupants smoke in bed, the Code suggests considering installing smoke alarms in the bedroom itself. Ominously, statistics reveal that - if such a fire begins in a room where an occupant is asleep - their chances of survival are greatly reduced. By the time an alarm sounds in an adjacent area, it may very well already be too late.

Fires caused by space heating appliances are also particularly life threatening. After fires caused by smoking and cooking appliances, these types of fires account for more deaths than any other cause - around 12% of accidental fire deaths. These fires often occur when something inflammable is placed too close to the heater. The Code suggests that, if portable heaters or solid fuel fires are used at night, there may be good justification for installing smoke alarms in the relevant rooms - particularly bedrooms.

Fires caused by electrical appliances account for some 10% of all household fires, but result in only 6% of deaths. Electric

blankets and bed warmers cause 40% of all the deaths in fires due to faulty electrical appliances. The Code says that ‘use of electric blankets, particularly by high risk groups such as the elderly, increases the justification for providing smoke alarms in bedrooms’. As with smoking materials, by the time an alarm in an adjacent area detects smoke, it may be too late.

Finally, the new 2004 Code acknowledges that there is a very worrying increase in the incidence of arson, just as it did back in

1995. Malicious ignition is the second most common source of ignition in all fires in dwellings. Arson is particularly worrying in multiple occupancy dwellings and the Code stresses that the level of fire protection in such places needs to be very high if there is a significant risk of malicious fire-raising. It even goes so far as to suggest installing alarms near the door in case inflammable materials are pushed through the letterbox.

WHO IS MOST AT RISK?

The occupants of a property are another significant factor which needs to be considered.

MOST COMMON CAUSES OF ACCIDENTAL FIRES

The Code acknowledges that elderly people are at ‘significantly greater risk’ from fire than other age groups. For those over 80, the probability of dying in a fire is several times that for those aged from 30 to 59. Those aged between 60 and 80 are also at increased risk. Children under five are at greater risk than adults.

For that reason, the Code recommends greater levels of fire protection in dwellings occupied by the elderly or those with young children.

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