Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

An analysis has been made of 540 incidents of fires in schools and allied educational institutions. Three hundred and forty-one incidents, 63 per cent of the total, occurred in primary and secondary day schools and 70 (13 per cent) in boarding schools. One hundred and seventy-nine incidents, 33 per cent of the total, were caused by heating apparatus and a further 55 by cookers (electric, gas, or coal ranges). Seventy-nine incidents occurred in kitchens and canteens (Tables 3a and 3b) and 59 in classrooms. In 173 incidents (Tables 4a and 4b), constructional materials were ignited first, partitions, walls and wall linings being involved in 19 per cent of these incidents, and floors in a further 23 per cent. It was possible to obtain the cost of the damage due to some of the fires, where the damage was estimated to amount to more than £10. The total cost of 78 such incidents was about £66 000.