An analysis of fatal unintentional dwelling fires investigated by London Fire Brigade between 1996 and 2000

Abstract

London is a large capital city with a population of approximately seven million people. It shares many problems with other large cities around the world, including deaths due to fire. Many of these fire deaths can be linked to social problems such as poor housing, loneliness, illness, etc. Data from the London Fire Brigade Real Fire Library—a unique database of information collected from real fire incidents by dedicated teams of fire investigators operating in the Greater London Area has been used to obtain a range of statistics about fatal fires and fire death victims for the 5-year period from 1996 to 2000. Most deaths occurred in unintentional dwelling fires. The statistical information has therefore been analysed to identify the main factors involved as to why people die in unintentional dwelling fires and see what lessons can be learnt from these deaths. Common risk factors identified in the unintentional dwelling fire deaths investigated include smoking, alcohol, old age, disability, illness, living alone, social deprivation and not having a working smoke alarm fitted. Comparisons are also made with the results found from other studies and measures for preventing unintentional dwelling fire deaths are examined.