Fire Fatalities Research Articles

Old age and fire injury

Previous studies indicated that the elderly are vulnerable to fire injury. In this article, the nature of such vulnerability in terms of fire injury risk factors including age band, gender, occupancy level, deprivation, mobility, alcohol consumption and attempting to fight the fire is examined in a UK Fire and Rescue Service between April 2011 and April 2022. Fire injury risk was more common the greater the age of the elderly individual, more likely for males up to 74, but more likely for females above that age, possibly due to the greater proportion of females to males above age 74 in the area and time period studied. Elderly fire injuries mainly occurred in single occupancy housing and in more deprived areas. Cooking-related fire injuries accounted for 60.2% of elderly fire injuries, followed by smoking-related fire injuries (14.3%) and heating-related fire injuries (7.2%). Fire fatalities were not included in the analysis.

Применение тактических возможностей отделения на основном пожарном автомобиле при тушении пожаров

PURPOSE. The given article is the first to consider a new model of the main general-purpose fire truck WT 3,2 40/4 (43253), developed by the manufacturer by the order of EMERCOM of Russia and supplied to fire departments for their technical equipment within the framework of the “Programs for the development of the armament with military and special equipment in the part of EMERCOM of Russia until 2035”. The article is based on the outcomes of the scientific research carried out by a group of authors in 2022 by the order of the Central Office of EMERCOM of Russia. The authors paid attention to the methodology of calculating indicators (parameters) of the tactical capabilities of a crew on the main general-purpose fire truck (fire tanker), combat using tactical capabilities of fire service units when extinguishing fires and conducting emergency rescue operations, as well as combat (tactical) use of the main fire truck. METHODS. The research provides analytical (mathematical) calculations of indicators of the tactical capabilities of a crew on the main general-purpose fire truck (fire tanker) based on tactical tasks that need to be solved by this crew when extinguishing a fire. FINDINGS. The authors identified analytical (calculated) indicators (parameters) of the department tactical capabilities of a crew on the main general-purpose fire truck (fire tanker), outlined methods of these indicators practical application in fire extinguishment along with the main schemes for a fire tanker combat use. RESEARCH APPLICATION FIELD. Based on this scientific material, a group of authors developed “Recommendations for using fire services units’ tactical capabilities when extinguishing fires and conducting emergency rescue operations”. Based on the indicators of a fire tanker tactical capabilities, the incident commander is able to determine the required amount of forces and means for extinguishing fires quickly and accurately, namely the number (rank) of the fire, as well as organize the non-stop supply of extinguishing agents by the fire tankers crews when extinguishing fires. CONCLUSIONS. Knowledge of the tactical capabilities of the crews on the main fire trucks and the schemes for their tactical (combat) use, both autonomously (independently) and as part of the guard, allows the incident commander to determine and concentrate a sufficient amount of means and forces to extinguish fires within the shortest possible time, as well as use them effectively in rescuing people, protecting and evacuating (rescue) property, and the elimination of fires. Studying and applying the given knowledge within the framework of combat training in fire-tactical classes, fire-tactical exercises, as well as in extinguishing fires can increase the level of an incident commander tactical training, reduce the number of fatalities in fires as well as economic and material damage from fires in the Russian Federation.

Analysis of RBS Chrome's Employee Preparedness Conditions Against Fire Threats

Fire is an event where a fire is not where it should be, resulting in material or life losses that can occur anywhere. Fatal fires are those that occur in the industrial sector because they will disrupt operational and production activities. The purpose of this study is to analyze employee preparedness for facilities or infrastructure from the protection system in RBS CHROME and find out the comparison of the preparedness of production employees and management employees to fire hazards in RBS CHROME. This type of research is descriptive quantitative. The design of this study used a list of questions as a guideline for interviews and field observations. The list of questions to informants of the study was carried out on 3 groups of employees, namely production employees and management employees of RBS CHROME. Field observation of facilities or infrastructure using a checklist sheet that refers to a ministerial regulation. The results of this study show that RBS CHROME has provided facilities or facilities for fire disaster preparedness, but employees who are in the RBS CHROME office do not understand and are not prepared for fire disasters

Investigation and numerical reconstruction of a full-scale electric bicycle fire experiment in high-rise residential building

Electric bicycle (E-bike) fires have attracted more concerns recently in the field of fire safety science since several fatal fires occurred especially in residential buildings. This paper conducts a full-scale experiment of E-bike fire in a typical high-rise residential building of China. Fire and smoke characteristics as well as their influences on the residents’ safety and evacuation are studied. It was found that E-bike fire grows quite rapidly once ignited. Less smoke could spread into these residential rooms with closed door. Sealing the entrance door gap could effectively help to prevent the smoke. At the very first stage of the fire (around 4.5min from igniting), the residents could choose to evacuate downstairs. However, it is a better option to stay at home waiting for help during most of the fire period. Smoke from this fire did not exceed the height of the 10th floor in the staircase. Thus, for the residents on the 10th floor and above, to escape through the staircase upward to the building roof is another safe option. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) was used to numerically reconstruct this fire. The numerical results show good agreement with the experiments. Based on accurate parameters and boundary conditions, FDS is verified to be feasible to conduct numerical reconstruction of E-bike fires for the purpose of assisting fire investigation.

Distinguishing thermally altered bones from debris using imaging and fluorescence spectrometry

Bushfires and mass disasters from which result fatal fire victims are two types of events in which Forensic Anthropology acts aiding in the recovery of human remains and the identification of the victims. This is a challenging job since bones that have undergone fire-caused alterations can be unrecognizable. Therefore, collecting evidence at the scene is very important and should be thorough. To evaluate the potential of the application of optical techniques for the recovery and analysis of burnt skeletal material in forensic contexts, this exploratory study focused on analysing reflectance and luminescence properties of bone to differentiate between skeletal remains and debris. The sample includes burnt human bones, as well as non-human bones and debris (like metal, fabric, and others). The reflectance experiments revealed to be quite ineffective, not showing a response pattern that allowed for discrimination between skeletal remains and debris. Three techniques were used to detect luminescence, which included imaging (with a camera), fluorescence spectrometry, and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (excitation: 440 nm). Luminescence results were more promising, registering a positive response for several samples, with a general consistency of results between the different methodologies. Nevertheless, burning conditions and individual characteristics (e.g., pathologies) can introduce limitations to the techniques.

Controllable Path Planning and Traffic Scheduling for Emergency Services in the Internet of Vehicles

Dispatching emergency vehicles (EVs) to fatal accidents or fires as fast as possible is vital to save lives; however, minimizing an EV’s travel time to the rescue spot is still an open challenge. This work presents a path planning and traffic clear-out scheduling scheme to lessen the EV’s travel time in the vision of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). Initially, the system searches a list of candidate paths to the rescue spot with the estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the EVs’ maximum speed, regardless of the traffic conditions. After that, a vehicle clear-out process evaluates the delay time of clearing out the traffic obstacles on each path to identify the fastest driving path. Finally, the system estimates and issues the signal preemption schedules for the junctions of the selected route to coordinate the traffic flows and let the EV pass through smoothly. From the macro perspective, this work seeks to <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">control the dynamic traffic proactively to reserve a lane for the EV</i> – a feasible approach in the future of connected vehicles. This controllable model apparently contrasts with the conventional techniques of finding the least-cost paths with the uncertainty of traffic state prediction or traffic light preemption alone at the intersections. The simulation shows that our approach can outperform the state-of-the-art solutions in terms of the EV’s travel time reduction, particularly if the congestion or heavy load road segments appear on the selected route but far from the departure location of the EV.

An Explorative Methodology to Assess the Risk of Fire and Human Fatalities in a Subway Station Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS)

Subway transportation is one of the most prevalent urban transportation methods globally. Millions of people around the globe use this medium as their mode of transportation daily. However, subway stations may be highly prone to fire, smoke, or explosion accidents. The safety of people using subway stations demands a robust and practical framework to assess fire hazards and risks. This study provides a methodology to assess fire risk at a subway station. This study integrates fault tree analysis (FTA) and fuzzy analysis to conduct a comprehensive fire risk assessment. An integrated numerical model of fire temperature and fatality rate was developed using probit correlations for various fire exposure scenarios. The fire dynamics simulator (FDS) provides the probability distribution of casualties caused by fire. To demonstrate the operationalization of the model, Line 1 of the Harbin Metro, located in China, is used as a case study. Results show a probability of 42% of having fire risk in the subway station. Results reveal the highest fatality rate is 6.2% when evacuation time exceeds 200 s. The research helps us to understand the spread of smoke and temperature distribution due to a fire in a subway station. This study is helpful for fire protection engineers, safety managers, and local fire departments to develop a contingency plan to deal with fire in a subway station.

Residential fire fatality typologies in Sweden: Results after 20 years of high-quality data

Introduction: Despite a positive long-term trend in fire mortality rates, more knowledge is required concerning the causes and typologies of fatal residential fires in order to improve preventative efforts and further decrease fatality rates. A previous study suggested that fatal residential fires can be grouped into six categories, however, the analyses were performed on a limited dataset that is now more than a decade old. As such, there are some uncertainties regarding the current situation. Also, in the previous study, no subgroups were analyzed separately, despite fatal fires being renowned for being strongly age-dependent. Method: This study re-analyzes the typologies for fatal residential fires in Sweden using cluster analysis, based on data for a period of 20 years with a particular focus on older adults. Results: The results suggest that the original cluster analyses were relatively robust for both the total population and for the elderly population, thereby indicating that fatal fires seem to be consistently grouped into certain types. Conclusions: The results suggest that preventative efforts can be directed toward these types of events involving identified individuals. The results also suggest that the number of fatal residential fires with unknown causes has increased in relation to other fires during the 20-year study period. Practical Implications: Fatal residential fires with unknown causes are more often large night-time fires occurring in houses in rural locations. In order to prevent these, both prevention and reactive strategies need to be re-evaluated.

Expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) 27 and 70 in kidney in cases of fatal hemorrhage

The expression levels of intracellular heat shock proteins (Hsps), specialized chaperone proteins, increase in cases of cellular stress with protein misfolding and aggregation. In a previous study, we demonstrated that there is an extensive increase in intracellular Hsp27 and 70 expression levels in renal tissues in fire fatality cases. Hsp expression can be induced by not only heat, but also by tissue hypoxia. In cases of fatal hemorrhage, the individual suffers hypoxemia and consequently tissue hypoxia. Here, we examined 43 cases of fatal hemorrhage and a control group of 85 deaths not related to blood loss or temperature exposure. We evaluated Hsp27 and 70 protein expression levels in renal tissue using immunohistochemistry. The results revealed that no extensive Hsp27 or 70 expression is induced in the fatal hemorrhage cases. The renal Hsp levels were similar to those of the control group. Fatal blood loss does not cause relevant cell stress.

The Role of Forensic Anthropologists at the Fatal Fire Recovery

A retrospective review of 1,760 forensic cases processed by Mercyhurst University personnel between 1983 and 2020was performed for medicolegal investigations of fatal fires. This research examines trends in the role of forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology at fatal fire scenes. A total of 218 forensic archaeological searches and/or recoveries were conducted over the 38-year period. Of these, 36 were categorized as fire cases for which the Mercyhurst Forensic Scene Recovery Team (M-FSRT) processed the scene, even in the event that a body was not found. Data were collected from these cases on location, fire type, season of fire recovery, and manner of fire (accidental or intentional). Fire searches/recoveries spanned four U.S. states and all seasons, with the greatest number of cases occurring in the fall (36%) and an equal number of cases involving fires outdoors and within structures. The majority of fire scene recoveries were related to events that were accidental, such as the wrecks of automobiles, airplanes, and trains, as opposed to intentional. From 1983 to 2009, 15% of all searches/recoveries involved fire, while in the past 10 years (2010–2020), that percentage has increased to 17.4%. Over half of the total fire recovery cases were conducted between 2015 and 2020. Considering the increasing involvement of forensic anthropologists in fatal fire recoveries and the diversity of fatal fire scenes, it is imperative that best practices be accessible to assist forensic anthropologists in approaching scenes of this nature. This research provides recommendations toward scene processing and the incorporation of forensic archaeological methods at the fire scene.

Negative Binomial Distribution to Explain the Domestic Fire Incidence in Nepal

Background: Fire disaster is one of the most destructive disasters. According to global dataset of Sendai Framework, domestic fire incidence was 9.9% up to 2019. In Nepal, 62% fire incidence was reported during 2017 and 2018. However, many studies have been conducted on fire incidence, few of them are based on domestic fire incidence.&#x0D; Objective: To find the descriptive statistics of fire occurrences and fire fatalities, and to identify the probability distributions that best fit the data of fire occurrences observed in three ecological regions as well as overall in Nepal.&#x0D; Material and Methods: The data of fire incidences from May 2011 to April 2021 were retrieved from Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal, Government of Nepal. At first, a statistical software "Mathwave EasyFit" of 30 days trial version was used to identify the candidate probability models. Further, the best probability model was determined after testing the goodness of fit of the candidate models by using graphical tools-histogram and theoretical densities, empirical and theoretical CDFs, Q-Q plot and P-P plot; and mathematical tools-maximum likelihood, Akaike Information Criteria and Bayesian Information Criteria by using the package “fitdistrplus” of software R version 4.1.1.&#x0D; Results: On an average, 135 fire incidences per month were occurred in Nepal. However, the Terai faced the highest monthly fire incidences compared to the Hill and the Mountain, it has less fatality per 100 fire incidence followed by the Hill and the Mountain. Descriptive statistics reveals that fire occurrences are moderate during November to February and high in March and April. The fire incidences were reported high during spring and winter and low during summer and autumn season which reveals that fire incidence might be related with the precipitation and temperature. The sample data was run in "Mathwave EasyFit" software which suggested Poisson, geometric and negative binomial distribution as candidate probability models. The goodness of fit of these models were further tested by graphical as well as mathematical tools where negative binomial distribution was found to be best among the candidate models for the data set.&#x0D; Conclusion: Incidence of fire disasters varies by ecological regions as well as by seasons. It is low in the Mountain region and during Monsoon/rainy season. Negative binomial distribution fits the best to monthly data of fire incidence in Nepal.

Pinched Power Cord is Latent Defect Causing Fire When Appliance Is Not in Use

After a fatal residential fire, witness statements and burn patterns pointed investigators toward an electrically powered upholstered reclining chair as the origin. A search for exemplar recliners identified slightly different designs of the power supply, which converts house current to low-voltage direct current for driving the motor. Although the fire left no direct evidence of its cause, analysis of unburned exemplars uncovered a design defect in the power supply electrical enclosure design, causing damage to the power cord during assembly. The transformer was found to press against the two-conductor power cord, in a location inside the unit that was concealed after assembly. The newer units did not have this design defect. Investigators developed the hypothesis that over time, the sustained force of the transformer against the cord enabled the insulation to deform such that a short circuit occurred in the power cord and caused the fire — even when the recliner was not in use and if the house wiring circuit had been protected by a circuit breaker. This paper details the investigation, testing, and findings, including dissenting expert opinions. More importantly, it shows how forensic engineers conduct detective work and apply scientific principles to achieve useful results.

Five-year overview of fatal thermal and electrical burns in Johannesburg, South Africa

Thermal and electrical burn injuries affect millions of people globally each year. South Africa is a developing country where fatal fires are common. Despite the pervasiveness of fatal thermal and electrical burns in South Africa, there is a paucity of information regarding the frequency of such fatal burns in the City of Johannesburg. We aimed to describe the demographics and frequency of fatal thermal and electrical burn cases received at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Services Medico-Legal Mortuary for medico-legal death investigations, and compare the burn mortality rates between Johannesburg and those reported in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Mpumalanga. This study was a 5-year (2010–2014) retrospective review of 185 forensic medico-legal case files of fatal burns (156 thermal burn cases and 29 electrical burn cases) received at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Services Medico-Legal Laboratory. The demographics at the greatest risk of fatal burns in Johannesburg, South Africa are black (2.11 per 100 000) and male (1.03 per 100 000) individuals, and those in the 30–39-year age group (3.6 per 100 000). Children aged 0–9 years had a high mortality rate due to thermal burns (3.44 per 100 000). The most common type of fatal burns is thermal in nature, as a result of flames (1.62 per 100 000). Electrical burns are relatively rare (0.3 per 100 000). Burns are prevalent in the winter months, most notably in August. Burn wounds are common on the head, chest, back, and abdomen. Johannesburg has an overall lower burn mortality rate and incidence frequency than Cape Town, Pretoria, and Mpumalanga. This study is the first to report on fatal burns in Johannesburg, South Africa.Significance:&#x0D; &#x0D; A description is provided of fatal thermal and electrical burns of individuals whose deaths were investigated at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Services Medico-Legal Mortuary.&#x0D; The results highlight the demographic groups at risk of fatal burns in Johannesburg, South Africa.&#x0D; Johannesburg has a lower fatal burn incidence and mortality rate than Cape Town, Pretoria, and Mpumalanga; however, young people, particularly male individuals, are at greatest risk.&#x0D;

The Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on the Theoretical Effectiveness of Fire Prevention Interventions on Fatal Residential Fires

The risk of fatal residential fires is known to be differentiated by sociodemographic factors. However, often prevention measures are introduced generally in a population, thereby perhaps affecting the effectiveness of these interventions. By using a 20-year high-quality register over fatal fires in Sweden and a previously validated Boolean expressions regarding the effectiveness for specific interventions, this study investigates the theoretical effectiveness of fire interventions in relation to different sociodemographic variables and fatal residential fires. The results show that the effectiveness of different fire-related prevention measures varies considerably in relation to different sociodemographic variables such as age, sex, municipal characteristics and living conditions. As such, the paper highlights the importance of matching the correct fire prevention measure to each individual depending upon sociodemographic risk factors in order to achieve maximal effectiveness.

Factors contributing to survival and evacuation in residential fires involving older adults in Sweden

It has been known for a long time that older adults suffer a significantly higher risk of dying in residential fires compared to younger people. The characteristics of these fatal fires and the fatalities are also well known. However, less is known about older adults who survive fires and how they differ from those who die. This distinction can be assumed to be of great importance when designing effective prevention efforts.In the current paper, factors that contribute to survival of older adults (65+) has been investigated together with factors that contribute to different modes of evacuation (e.g. evacuation assisted by neighbours) based, primarily, on incident reports.The results show that fewer than half of the victims (39%) evacuated independently and many rely on evacuation assisted by neighbours (18%), first-responders (27%) or homecare personnel (8%).Living in urban areas was found to increase the odds of survival. Based on the results from the analysis of evacuation, this is likely due to a combination of proximity to neighbours and a short response time. For successful evacuation by non-firefighters, the fires often had to be confined to the object of ignition while the rescue service could evacuate from larger fires.

Evaluating the communication within fire and rescue services and the NHS on the fire risk of emollients in accordance of the MHRA safety update

SUMMARYThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency update in 2018 reported 50 fatal fires linked with emollient use. It detailed the fire risk and new advice aimed at fire service and health care professionals in reporting of such fire incidents and educating the public on safer use of emollients. This study investigates how this has been communicated internally and publicly, with 52 Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) websites and, 191 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), and 21 Local Health Boards (LHBs) formularies accessed. A Freedom of Information Request (FOIR) was also made, giving further details of implementations. Our study revealed that 63% of FRSs, 32% of CCGs and, 72% of LHBs gave no safety advice within their website or formularies. Of the 37% of FRSs and 68% of CCGs that did, only 5% and 4% were sufficiently up to date. 27% of FRSs and 28% of CCGs/LHBs revealed that they had no warning/advice internally in their FOIR responses and 25% of FRSs and, 35% of CCG/LHBs had not disseminated advice on using emollient safely to the public. We suggest improvements in safety campaigns using a multiagency and national approach and recommend organizations to educate professionals to improve reporting and effective dissemination.

A Framework for Analyzing Residential Fire Outcomes in Homes with Operative Smoke Alarms

Operative smoke alarms have been shown to be effective in reducing home-fire fatalities, but there remain incidents in which injuries and death occur despite the presence of a working smoke alarm. The present work presents a scientifically-guided framework for evaluating the outcomes of such incidents from the perspective of human factors and, specifically, the warnings communication process. It considers the roles of environmental, individual, and situational factors in occupants’ detection, noticing, and processing of smoke alarms, as well as the behaviors produced in response. Such factors include the acoustic environment in which the alarm sounds, the occupants’ cognitive state and focus of attention, the occupants’ developmental and physical abilities, and the situational circumstances in which a response is chosen and executed. The synthesis of these findings provides one methodology for understanding real-world outcomes of fires, as well as informing development and evaluation of countermeasures for improving residential fire fatality rates.

Estimating the impact of the mattress fire safety Standard 16 CFR Part 1633 on bed fire outcomes.

Beds are a prevalent combustible in fatal fires in the United States effective 1 July 2007, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission promulgated a standard to severely reduce the heat release rate and the early heat output from mattresses and foundations when ignited by a flaming ignition source. This study estimates the Standard's success over its first decade using fire incidence, US population, and mattress sales data. The technique mitigates the influence of some exogenous factors that might have changed during this decade. The Standard is accomplishing its purpose, preventing approximately 65 fatalities (out of an estimated 95 fatalities in 2002-2005) from bed fires annually during 2015-2016, although not all pre-Standard mattresses had yet been replaced. Compared to residential upholstered furniture fires, which were not affected by the Standard, the numbers of bed fires decreased by 12%, injuries by 34%, and deaths by 82% between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016. Per bed fire, injuries decreased by 25% and fatalities decreased by 67%, indicating that the severity of bed fires is being reduced.

Influence of modern plastic furniture on the fire development in fires in homes: large‐scale fire tests in living rooms

SUMMARYAbout 80% of all fire fatalities in Germany occur because of fires in homes. It has been known for some time that modern materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of synthetic polymers) tend to burn differently from older materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of fibrous cellulosic substances) and it has been acknowledged that the amount of combustible plastics in homes has increased significantly over the last decades. To investigate the influence of modern furniture and ventilation conditions of fires in homes, a series of four large‐scale tests in two living rooms (LRs) with adjacent rooms (ARs) was performed by BAM and the Frankfurt fire service. Two LRs, one with older furniture and one with modern furniture, were tested twice each. Each test started with the ignition of a paper cushion on an upholstered chair. The influence of modern materials on the fire development was investigated, as well as the influence of the ventilation on the fire development. In all settings, an upholstered chair was the first burning item. Results of the test series show that fires in rooms with modern furniture develop faster than fires in rooms with older furniture. This is true for temperature development in the rooms as well as for smoke production.

Social and Demographic Characteristics and the Contribution of Fireplay to Fire-Related Mortality Among Children in the U.S., 2004–2016

This study seeks to describe the circumstances of fire deaths among children, identify deaths related to fireplay, and compare children whose deaths were related to fireplay with non-fireplay-related deaths. Children aged 1-14 years who died in a fire during 2004-2016 were identified from the National Fatality Review Case Reporting System. Social, demographic, and fire characteristics were described and then compared for children who died in fires caused by fireplay versus non-fireplay-related deaths. Unadjusted ORs and 95% CIs were calculated. Data were collected 2004-2018 and analyzed in 2019. A total of 1,479 children who died in fires were identified. They were predominantly male (54%) and White (47%); 34% were Black. Two or more children died in 54% of incidents. Fires occurred most frequently in single-family homes (52%) and rental properties (37%); 23% were started by smoking materials or candles. Smoke alarm information was largely missing (42%) and noted to be present and working for only 82 deaths. Fireplay was responsible for 175 (12%) of the deaths. Compared with non-fireplay-related deaths, children who died in fireplay fires were more likely to be aged 1-4 years (OR=2.6, 95% CI=1.5, 4.3), male (OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.2, 2.2), have supervision documented as no, but needed (OR=8.8, 95% CI=4.1, 18.8), and have an open Child Protective Services case (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1, 3.0). This study provides data on supervision and the role of fireplay in fatal fires among young children, offering information for the development of innovative primary prevention strategies and future research.