An evaluation of the role of fire extinguishers

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52. Between 2001/02 and 2002/03, the BCS recorded an estimated drop in the number of dwelling fires from 383,000 to 372,000 in England and Wales. The English Housing Survey for 2013/14 recorded an estimated 206,980 dwelling fires in England compared to 273,000 in its 2004/05 survey. 53. In summary, whether attended by the FRS or dealt with by the public, dwelling fires have exhibited a sustained downward trend. As such, the likelihood of any person, household or other dwelling experiencing a fire is also decreasing. Dwelling fires rarely extend beyond the room of origin 54. In respect of the fire size, official published data relates to the end state after the fire has been extinguished. For this report, it is a proxy indicator as it does not directly identify the conditions at the time the fire was discovered, and/or when attempts were made to tackle it by the public. 55. Overall, the data reveals that the size of dwelling fires is relatively small. Two FRS data sets have been used as indicators for the purpose of this assessment - fire spread and area of fire damage. And data from the BCS relating to financial loss provides some insight in to fires that were not attended by the FRS. Fire spread 56. Of the dwelling fires attended by the FRS in England during the 12-month period in 2018/19: • 30% resulted in no fire damage • 32% resulted in the fire being limited to the item first ignited • 25% resulted in the fire being limited to the room of origin This means that in 87% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 57. This data was first published for the year 2010/11 and during that period the findings were similar: • 32% resulted in no fire damage • 28% resulted in the fire being limited to the item first ignited • 27% resulted in the fire being limited to the room of origin This means that, again, in 87% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 58. Of the dwelling fires attended by the Scottish FRS during the 12-month period in 2018/19: • 47% were recorded as causing smoke and heat damage only • 26% were confined to the item of origin • 16% were confined to the room of origin. This means that in 89% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 13
59. In 2009/10 the figures for the same were: • 45% resulted in no damage, • 21% were limited to the item first ignited • 19% did not extend beyond the room of origin This means that in 85% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 60. Of the dwelling fires attended by the Welsh FRS in the 12-month period 2018/19: • 25% were recorded as causing no fire damage • 39% were limited to the item first ignited • 23% were confined to the room of origin. This means that in 87% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 61. In the 2009/10 period, the corresponding figures were: • 35% caused no fire damage • 34% were limited to the item first ignited • 21% were confined to the room of origin This means that in 90% of cases the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. 62. For the years shown, the percentage of fires that either caused no damage or did not extend beyond the item first ignited ranged from 60% to 73%. And in a further 25% to 26% of incidents attended by the FRS, the fire did not spread beyond the room of origin. The data suggests a stable but downward trend for the spread of fire. Area of fire damage 63. In England, the average area of fire damage for all dwelling fires in 2001/02 was 26.3 m2. With minor fluctuations, this has gradually decreased to an average of 16.2 m2 in 2018/19 (Home Office, 2019). This represents a reduction in average area of fire damage of 38% in just 17 years. 64. In Scotland: • the proportion of fires resulting in no damage increased from 11% to 14% in the period 2009 to 2019 • those causing smoke and heat damage only (no fire damage) accounted for 38% in 2009/10 and 43% in 2018/19. • Fires causing under 5 m2 of damage decreased from 25% to 22% and • Fires causing between 6 m2 to 10 m2 of damage remained at 4%. • Larger fires of 11 m2 or above fell from 22% in 09/10 to 16% by 2018/19. Overall, the proportion of fires attended by the Scottish FRS resulting in no damage, smoke and heat damage only or under 5 m2 of fire damage accounted for 75% in 2009/10 and 80% in 2018/19. The data shows an increase in smaller fires and a decrease in larger ones. 14
Page 4 and 5: Aim and audience This report was pr
Page 6 and 7: Definitions Dwelling fires - fires
Page 8: 10. There is limited literature and
Page 11 and 12: 25. Limiting the fire to the smalle
Page 13: 40. To capture the concept of indir
Page 18 and 19: 65. In Wales: • the proportion of
Page 20 and 21: 79. This quantified modelling appro
Page 23 and 24: Human behaviour and motivation in d
Page 25 and 26: 106. It is a dilemma found in many
Page 27 and 28: 120. Surveys from the National Asso
Page 29: 133. A 2003 UK survey found that pr
Page 32 and 33: The role of portable fire extinguis
Page 34 and 35: 159. To help the end user distingui
Page 36 and 37: 174. BS 5306-8 considers that encou
Page 39 and 40: Research and data 184. The point ha
Page 42 and 43: Key findings, discussion, and recom
Page 44 and 45: 212. Response times do not appear t
Page 46 and 47: Extinguishers Findings 227. Standar
Page 48 and 49: 241. Recognition of the influence o
Page 50 and 51: REFERENCES British Standards Instit
Page 52 and 53: Harpur, A., Boyce, K. and McConnell
Page 54 and 55: LACORS (2008) Housing - Fire Safety
Page 56 and 57: United Nations Office for Disaster
Page 58 and 59: Acknowledgement The author is grate

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