FIRES IN POST-WAR DWELLINGS XXXIX. AN ANALYSIS OF REPORTS OF FIRES ATTENDED BY FIRE BRIGADES IN GREAT BRITAIN 1954
Hinton, J., 1955. FIRES IN POST-WAR DWELLINGS XXXIX. AN ANALYSIS OF REPORTS OF FIRES ATTENDED BY FIRE BRIGADES IN GREAT BRITAIN 1954. Fire Research Notes194
An analysis has been made of reports of fires in post-war non-
traditional dwellings returned by Fire Brigades in Great Britain in 1954.
Two hundred and fifty-six temporary dwellings were damaged by fire in
1954 (16.3 damaged dwellings per 10 000 at risk per year). About half of
the total incidents were to causes associated with the use of electricity,
half of the latter number being due to faults in the electrical installation
of the house. Twenty non-fatal casualties and 2 fatal casualties occurred
as a result of fires in temporary dwellings.
The total rate of incidence of fire in temporary dwellings decreased in
1954 to about the same level as that of 1952.
There were 296 permanent non-traditional dwellings damaged by fire in
1954, (8.8 damaged dwellings per 10 000 at risk per year). Eighty-six
incidents (29 per cent of the total fires) were caused by domestic coal
fires, and a further 26 by radiated heat and sparks from flues. Twenty-six
serious fires occurred in permanent non-traditional dwellings, of which
7 involved B.I.S.F. and 5 Airey dwellings.
Two were and 296 non-fatal casualties occurred in fires involving
permanent non-traditional dwellings.
The overall rate of incidence of fire in permanent non-traditional
dwellings was slightly higher than the corresponding rate for 1953 (8.1
damaged dwellings per 10 000 at risk per year), but still lower than that
for any other year since 1947.