Alcohol ‘a factor in 40% of fire deaths’
The research also found that the majority of the 500 people killed in fires over the past decade could have been saved if their homes had functioning smoke alarms.
Statistics show 482 people died in fires in the Republic and 168 in the North.
The majority of deaths occurred in the home.
Fires have claimed the lives of 29 people in the Republic this year alone.
National Safety Council chairman Eddie Shaw said a recent detailed study of 114 fire deaths in 2001 and 2002 in the Republic found there was either no smoke alarm present or, if present, was found not to be working in four out of five fatal fires.
International research shows a working smoke alarm reduces the risk of death in a fire by almost 50%.
Yesterday the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade Training Centre in Belfast was the backdrop for the cross-Border launch of Fire Safety Week.
The launch was performed jointly by Angela Smith MP, parliamentary under-secretary of State, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, and Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher, Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Fire Safety Week 2003 will run until Sunday, October 12, and is organised by the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade in the North and the National Safety Council in the Republic.
The theme of Fire Safety Week is 'Fire Our Community at Risk' and the emphasis will be on delivering fire safety advice to children and people over 50 throughout Ireland.
Peter Craig, assistant chief fire officer, Northern Ireland Fire Brigade, said the North had the highest level of smoke alarm ownership in the UK and, as a result, they had seen a significant reduction in the number of fire deaths in the home.
But, he warned, to maintain this level of fire safety it was essential smoke alarms were tested and maintained regularly.
"Our advice is simple test your smoke alarm once a week and change the battery once a year," he said.
Mr Gallagher said the joint initiative provided an excellent mechanism to spread the fire safety message across the island of Ireland.
During Fire Safety Week the National Safety Council will be appealing to people to buy a smoke alarm.
Activities taking place during the week include open days at fire stations, fire brigade visits to schools, street/shopping centre promotions, community lectures/talks on fire safety and distribution of fire safety leaflets and posters.
Events in the Republic are listed on the National Safety Council's website www.nsc.ie.
