An exploration of householder injuries sustained fighting dwelling fires

In this paper we examine the fire injuries sustained by householders fighting accidental dwelling fires in Merseyside in the North West of England over the period 2006 to 2016. In particular, we examine the distribution of injuries sustained by householders fighting accidental dwelling fires by age, gender, and level of deprivation, the types of housing in which injuries related to householders fighting fires occurred, and the types of injuries associated with householders fighting such fires. Injuries sustained by householders fighting accidental dwelling fires made up a significant proportion (19.5%) of the overall set of fire injuries over the period studied. Overall, it appeared that males were twice as likely to be injured fighting an accidental dwelling fire compared to females, however, this ratio varied between different age groups. In addition, single occupancy housing appeared to be the most common housing type in which householders sustained injuries fighting accidental dwelling fires. There also appeared to be a strong link between level of deprivation and incidents of householders being injured fighting such fires.