Residential Fires in Metropolitan Areas - Living Conditions and Fire Prevention

This chapter addresses the benefits of geo-statistical approaches in fire prevention processes, and especially in the prevention of residential fires in urban areas. The aim is to demonstrate how residential fire incidents can be theorized and placed in a context where geo-statistical techniques and an area-based approach can support the emergency services fire prevention work. The chapter introduces theoretical concepts such as Fire Risk Environment, Fire Protection Capability, as well as de-termining factors, types of residential fires and various hypotheses for further analysis of residential fires in urban contexts. Key themes are the development of residential fire incidents in different metropolitan areas over time, how different types of residential fires can be connected to living conditions, and finally how the emergency services and other actors can work with area-based fire prevention. Examples from Sweden's major cities and especially the city of Gothenburg are used. The results show that variations in spatial residential fire patterns can be ex-plained by a variation of living conditions. The conditions may also look different depending on the residential area and housing conditions and therefore, preven-tive strategies and proactive measures should differ between and within cities and be adapted to specific different areas.

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.

Using Linked Data to Estimate the True Number of Individuals Impacted by Residential Fire

IntroductionResidential fires remain a significant global public health problem. It is recognised that the reported number of residential fires, fire-related injuries and deaths significantly underestimate the true number. Australian population-based surveys show that around two-thirds of respondents who experience a residential fire are unwilling to call fire services, and studies from the US and New Zealand highlight that many individuals who access medical treatment for fire-related injuries do not have an associated fire incident report. Objectives and ApproachThis population-based study aimed to quantify the total number of residential fires, fire-related injuries and associated health service utilisation. The cohort included all persons residing at a residential address in New South Wales, Australia, which experienced a fire between 1 January 2005 - 31 December 2014. The cohort comprised linked person-level data from eight administrative datasets and includes information about nature of fire, first responder use (Fire and Rescue (FRNSW) and ambulance services), health service utilisation (emergency department, hospital and burns outpatient clinic) and health outcomes. ResultsOver the study period, FRNSW responded to 42,491 residential-fire incidents, involving 42,160 individuals with some individuals reporting multiple times. In total, 3,382 individuals used one or more health service and 154 individuals died. Of individuals who contacted FRNSW, 1,661 (3.9%) used health services;ambulance (n=1,101), emergency department (n=1,114), hospital admissions (n=168). There were 95 deaths. There were 1,721 (51%) additional individuals who used one or more health service as a result of a residential-fire that did not contact FRNSW and 59 additional deaths were identified. Conclusion / ImplicationsThis study found that more than half of individuals who used health services for residential fire-related injuries did not have an associated fire report, highlighting the importance of data linkage for accurate communication to policy makers and the public on the prevalence and impact of residential-fires.

Health impacts and economic costs of residential fires (RESFIRES study): protocol for a population-based cohort study using linked administrative data

IntroductionResidential fires remain a significant global public health problem. It is recognised that the reported number of residential fires, fire-related injuries and deaths significantly underestimate the true number. Australian surveys show that around two-thirds of respondents who experience a residential fire are unwilling to call the fire service, and international studies highlight that many individuals who access medical treatment for fire-related injuries do not have an associated fire incident report. The objectives of this study are to quantify the incidence, health impacts, risk factors and economic costs of residential fires in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.Methods and analysisThe RESFIRE cohort will include all persons living at an NSW residential address which experienced a fire over the period 2005–2014. Nine data sources will be linked to provide a comprehensive picture of individual trajectories from fire event to first responder use (fire and ambulance services), emergency department presentations, hospital admissions, burn out-patient clinic use and death. These data will be used to describe the circumstances and characteristics of residential fires, provide a profile of fire-related injuries, examine trends over time, and explore the relationship between fire circumstance, emergency and health services utilisation, and health outcomes. Regression modelling, including multilevel modelling techniques, will be used to explore factors that impact on these relationships. Costing models will be constructed.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for this study has been obtained from the NSW Population and Health Service Research Ethics Committee and Western Sydney University Human Research Ethics Committee. The study reference group comprises key stakeholders including Fire and Rescue NSW, policy agencies, health service providers and burns clinicians ensuring wide dissemination of results and translation of data to inform practice and identify areas for targeted prevention. Summary reports in formats designed for policy audiences in parallel with scientific papers will be produced.