Although fire fatalities in the UK and Northern Ireland have decreased over the last four decades, older people are overrepresented in fire fatality statistics. The population of older people in the UK and Northern Ireland is increasing and those most at risk from fire have been found to be the most difficult to reach when doing prevention activities. It has been suggested that the support network around older people be investigated to discover if they can contribute to community fire safety strategies increasing access to the older demographic. This study identified who is at risk from accidental dwelling fire fatalities, what can be done to reduce this risk and how this can be delivered in the community. A four-phase explanatory sequential design study was used aimed at producing evidence-based intervention strategies to identify and minimise risks associated with accidental dwelling fire fatalities for older people. The first phase was an analysis of fire fatalities in Northern Ireland between April 2009 and March 2019. In the second phase, managers of agencies working with older people were interviewed to investigate how voluntary and statutory organisations work with older people in the community and their attitudes towards fire safety and the challenges associated with it. Focus groups were used in phase 3 to identify what risks, if any, are observed in the homes of older people, what fire safety information is available to help people in the community identify and manage risks, what fire safety interventions are currently employed and what could be of use in the future to increase their awareness of fire safety. The fourth phase used co-production to develop fire safety intervention strategies to help the support network around older people identify and manage fire risk, which was followed by an-evaluation to assess the impact in the community. The output was a range of fire safety intervention strategies, used by health and social care staff, to identify and manage fire risk among older people in Northern Ireland.
- fire safety
- dwelling fires
- older people
- co-production
Who is at risk from accidental dwelling fire fatalities, what can be done to reduce this risk and how can this be delivered in the community?
Cassidy, P. (Author). May 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis