Statistics for 2014 (latest official figures available) show there were 61,300 building fires which resulted in over 322 deaths and 18,200 injuries during that year.
Of these – 39,600 were fires in dwellings which caused 258 deaths and 7,758 injuries. These statistics clearly show that your home is a dangerous place. In fact fires in the home account for over 80% of all building fires and over 80% of all casualties. You are more likely to die in a fire at home than anywhere else.
Smoke alarms give good warning of fires but are only effective if there is anyone there to hear them. What happens if you are deaf or bedridden or – simply not there? A recent report shows that over 95% of children for instance will sleep through a smoke alarm.
So what can we do to improve the situation? We certainly cannot expect the fire brigade to respond any quicker. In fact with modern traffic causing so much congestion response times are likely to get worse – not better.
What we can do is to turn from passive fire protection to active fire protection with residential sprinkler systems.