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.

It represented a major increase in such incidents in Galway where no fire fatalities had been recorded in the previous two years. Four deaths due to fire also occurred in Cork, Donegal and Sligo last year.

Overall, the number of fire-related deaths across the Republic rose sharply last year — up to 37 from 24 in 2013 — which had represented a 10-year low for such deaths.

The cause of fatal fires remains unknown in 17 of the 33 cases while five are still under investigation by the gardaí.

Candles, cigarettes, lighters, and matches were the suspected cause in five incidents, while electrical appliances and electrical wiring were also linked to five house fires.

Older people aged 65 years and more accounted for more than one third of all fire fatalities.

Meanwhile, the organiser of an international fire safety conference, being held in Dublin in April, claims existing fire safety codes and standards for buildings in almost every country including Ireland are technically inadequate, rarely implemented and discriminate against people with disabilities.

A key focus of the conference which takes place from April 9 to 10 will examine how disable people are evacuated safely out of burning buildings.

CJ Walsh, chief technical officer of FireOx International which is organising the event, said that Ireland was one of only a few countries which had still to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“In Ireland, we pay lip service to providing an accessible built environment for people with disabilities. In reality, accessibility is either non-existent or very deficient,” said Mr Walsh.

The conference has already been switched to a city centre hotel after concerns were raised about disabled access at the original venue in Dublin Castle.

Fire-related deaths increase to 37 from 10-year low of 24