Fire Safety Education Research Articles

Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology Centre (FireSERT) University of Ulster: Recent Developments

The Institute of Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology Centre (FireSERT) at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland has been a major provider of higher technical fire safety education, fire related research and services to industry for over 20 years. Its internationally recognised research spans the fields of fire dynamics, structural fire engineering, human behaviour in fire and more recently fire (CFD) modelling. Since 1991, it has offered the only PG Dip/MSc Fire Safety Engineering programme in the United Kingdom. In September 2000 FireSERT was the recipient of a £5.7 m Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF) Award to build new fire safety engineering laboratories on the University's Jordanstown campus. These new facilities unparallel in the University sector in the UK offer greater scope and depth to the FireSERT's research portfolios. The new facilities will be extensively used in support of FireSERT's suite of MSc Fire Safety Engineering and DPhil programmes. This paper presents a brief history of FireSERT and its achievements, together with an update on the new facility, current research themes, taught programmes, research opportunities and visions for the future.

Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment and Fire Safety Education for Children Who Set Fires: Initial and Follow-up Outcomes

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) and fire safety education (FSE) for children who had set a recent fire was evaluated. Assessments were conducted with 38 children who were randomly assigned to CBT or FSE and with another 16 children who received a brief intervention (home visit from a firefighter or HVF) that paralleled routine services. Measures in four domains related to the child's fire history were obtained from children and their parents at pre-treatment, post-assessment, and 1-year follow-up. There were several improvements at post-treatment for all conditions on measures of fire involvement, interest, and risk. However, CBT and FSE were more efficacious than HVF on certain measures, including the frequency of firesetting and proportion of children playing with matches, severity of individualized problems with fire, and involvement in fire-related acts and other deviant fire activities. These and other group differences, along with certain time effects, were evident at 1-year follow-up. The findings from this initial comparison study are discussed in the context of needed clinical and research directions for work with firesetters and their families.

Efficacy of Cognitive‐Behavioral Treatment and Fire Safety Education for Children Who Set Fires: Initial and Follow‐up Outcomes

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) and fire safety education (FSE) for children who had set a recent fire was evaluated. Assessments were conducted with 38 children who were randomly assigned to CBT or FSE and with another 16 children who received a brief intervention (home visit from a firefighter or HVF) that paralleled routine services. Measures in four domains related to the child's fire history were obtained from children and their parents at pre-treatment, post-assessment, and 1-year follow-up. There were several improvements at post-treatment for all conditions on measures of fire involvement, interest, and risk. However, CBT and FSE were more efficacious than HVF on certain measures, including the frequency of firesetting and proportion of children playing with matches, severity of individualized problems with fire, and involvement in fire-related acts and other deviant fire activities. These and other group differences, along with certain time effects, were evident at 1-year follow-up. The findings from this initial comparison study are discussed in the context of needed clinical and research directions for work with firesetters and their families.

Study On Potential Alternative Approach For Fire Deaths Reduction

The reduction of residential firc deaths is attained not only by popularization of firc protcction measures such as smoke detectors and residential sprinklers, but also by many othcr cfforts such as improvement of fire safety of appliances and furniture used in homes, popularization of fire-resistive houses, and fire safety education of thc public. This paper cxplorcs a potential approach to fire death reduction by cxamining the factors that affcct firc incidcncc and firc death rates, using statistical analysis of trends by agc group, typcs of homc structure, and causes of fires based on the database of fire incident reports and firc dcath reports in Japan. As a result, it was found that the popularization of safer heating appliances and fire-resistive houses and/or fireproof wooden houses provides us a good prospect for reducing firc dcaths in the future as a potential alternative approach besides fire protection systems. Also. thc dcclining trend in firc death rate of older people seen in recent years will help rcducc thc cstimatcd futurc number of fire dcaths.

The perception of fire risk by older people and its impact on relevant fire safety education

Accidents due to ‘fire and flames’ are second only to “falls” as the most important cause of accidental death in the homes of elderly individuals throughout the United Kingdom. This study aims to ascertain whether older people are receiving fire accident advice appropriate to their needs. A questionnaire addressing the issues of risk perception, fire preventative action and access to fire safety information was distributed to 1100 randomly selected members of the ‘Thousand Elders’ (a nation-wide consumer group established by the Centre for Applied Gerontology at The University of Birmingham, comprising people above the age of 50 years). Eight hundred and four questionnaires were returned and were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Fire risk was perceived as far less of an immediate threat than the danger of a personal attack by an intruder in the home. Recognition of fire risk and the effectiveness of fire safety measures did not result directly in safety appliances being fitted. The majority of ‘Elders’ had received no fire-fighting training, yet more than half felt confident in tackling a small fire. Neither did experience of a fire in the home necessarily increase action towards safety precautions. The majority had not been exposed to a fire safety campaign in the past 12 months. On exposure to a campaign, the impact towards fire safety was positive. The educational process should aim to close the gap between the recognition of the need for fire safety precautions and the implementation of fire safety measures. The key to effective fire prevention amongst older people depends upon: Information, Training and Support, i.e., relevant information supported by practical help and subsequent practical training in-situ by trusted community figures.

Secondary Prevention of Childhood Firesetting

The Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program was established to develop and evaluate an intervention to be offered by fire fighters for children who set fires. One hundred thirty-eight children, aged 5 to 16 years, with a history of firesetting participated in a randomized, controlled trial. The intervention involved education about fire safety and a behavior modification program designed to extinguish the desire to set fires through satiation. The frequency and severity of firesetting were recorded for 12 months after the intervention to measure outcome. There was a significant decrease in the frequency and severity of firesetting across all groups, with no additional improvement resulting from participation in the fire fighters' intervention. There is no evidence to suggest that the multicomponent program offered by trained fire fighters is effective in reducing firesetting. The marked reduction in firesetting across all groups suggests that fire safety education by the fire fighters is the most appropriate approach to this serious community problem.

The short-term effects of a fire safety education program for the elderly.

The high risk of fire death and injury among elderly people is well documented. To be effective, fire safety education must reach older adults in the settings in which they reside: nursing homes and other long-term care institutions, board and care homes, and independent living facilities including the person's own home. Training must also be targeted at the people who are responsible for fire safety. In the case of the nursing home or board and care home, the responsible people are the staff and owners. In the case of the majority of older adults who live independently in their homes, it is either the individual or family members. These programs must also be comprehensive. A fire safety education curriculum was developed by a group of experts in a variety of related fields including fire safety, gerontology, health care industry, developmental disabilities, research, and instructional design. Older adults were included in each planning session. Based on that curriculum, workshops and workshop materials were developed for each of the three target populations: staff of health care facilities, staff and owners of board and care homes, and elderly people living independently in their homes. Materials included both print and audiovisuals. A pilot test of each workshop was conducted to test the short-term effects of the programs. Results indicated significant gains in knowledge for all groups and a significant improvement in positive attitudes toward fire safety for most participants. Measures of effects of the programs on intentions to change fire safety practices indicated a potential for change. Results also showed that the measured traits, knowledge of fire safety and attitudes toward fire safety, were relatively stable.

A canonical correlation of fire protective behaviors and beliefs

The use of a multivariate procedure is demonstrated in the analysis of a survey of various firesafety actions and beliefs in a college student population. A canonical correlation analysis identified three significant factors and revealed that performing a safety inspection of one's residence for potential hazards was associated with beliefs in one's personal efficacy in handling fire situations, whereas engaging in more emergency-related actions such as checking to see if one's smoke detector was working properly, knowing the emergency telephone number, having it posted by the telephone, and knowing two exits out of each area of the home was related to beliefs of susceptibility and seriousness concerning fires. A third factor revealed an association between having a sprinkler system (but not a fire extinguisher) present in the place of residence, vacuuming the dust from a smoke detector, and having ever practiced an emergency escape with beliefs reflecting susceptibility to future (but not present) fire hazards, adequacy of firesafety knowledge, and beliefs in the effectiveness of firesafety inspections. It is shown that the results of this analysis can be quite useful in guiding the development of firesafety education materials; also, the need to differentiate the specific motivational approach depending upon the type of firesafety action being promoted with this particular population is revealed.

An outreach burn prevention program for home care patients.

Residential fires are the major cause of death from fires and burns in the United States, accounting for nearly two-thirds of annual fatalities. High-risk groups are more accessible now to burn prevention programs because of increasing home health care. Our burn prevention program, directed at homebound patients cared for by our hospital-based home care staff, combines fire safety education and smoke detector installation for this designated high-risk population. The combining of home health care with burn prevention activities has proven to be an effective means of reaching thousands of high-risk homes per year. We believe this approach would be equally effective in other areas.

Arson Prevention and Fire Safety Education

Arson Prevention and Fire Safety Education