Lack of fire alarms blamed for a third of home fatalities

More than one third of all family homes where a fatal fire occurred last year did not have fire alarms fitted.

Department of Environment research showed there was no evidence of an early warning alarm present in 12 of the 33 dwellings where people died in fires during 2014. However, in five residences where deaths occurred, fire investigators were unable to determine if alarms had been fitted due to the scale of the damage.

Furthermore, non-functioning smoke alarms were discovered in four out of 11 homes where fatalities occurred. Figures also reveal more than one in five of all fire fatalities last year occurred in Galway. Eight out of 37 deaths due to fire were recorded in the city and county.