Alcohol and House Fire Fatalities in Scotland,1980

Abstract

The association between house fire fatalities and high blood-alcohol concentrations has been recognized as a particular problem in Scotland. Alcohol intoxication increases the risk of the outbreak of fire and decreases the intoxicated individual's ability to effect an escape. This survey investigates the reported blood-alcohol concentrations from all Scottish fire fatalities during the 11-year period 1980–90 and analyses the data by age, sex, year and geographical location. Alcohol intoxication in fires is shown both to be a national problem and one relevant to females as well as males. Fire prevention campaigns must continue to emphasize the risk of consuming excessive quantities of alcohol in the home whilst parallel efforts to reduce the objective risk should be encouraged.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson

R. A.

Watson

A. A.

Harland

W. A.

(1981) Fire deaths in the Glasgow area: II the role of carbon monoxide. Med. Sci. Law 21, 288–94.

Anderson

R. A.

Willetts

Cheng

K. N.

Harland

W. A.

(1983) Fire deaths in the United Kingdom 1976–82. Pure and Materials 7, 67–72.

Baker

S. P.

(1992) What keeps the home fires burning? N. Engl. J. Med. 327, 887–8.

Eckert

W.G.

(1981) The medicolegal and forensic aspects of fires. Am J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2, 347–57.

Ghosh

S. J.

Shaw

A. D.

McGregor

L. C.

(1996) Burn injuries caused by chip-pan fires: the Edinburgh experience. Burns 22, 147–9.

Girela

Lachica

Pounder

(1992) Death certification of problem drinkers. Med. Sci. Law 32, 233–6.

Gormsen

Jeppesen

Lund

(1984) The causes of death in fire victims. Forensic Sci. Int. 24, 107–11.

Harwood

Hall

J. R.

(1989) What kills in fires: smoke inhalation or burns? Fire Journal May/June, 29–34.

Parks

J. G.

Noguchi

T. T.

Klatt

E. C.

(1989) The epidemiology of fatal burn injuries. Journal of Forensic Sciences JFSCA 34, 399–406.

10.

Rogde

Olving

J. H.

(1996) Characteristics of fire victims in different sorts of fires. Forensic Sci. Int. 77, 93–9.

11.

Runyan

C. W.

Bangdiwala

S. L.

Linzer

M. A.

Sacks

J. J.

Butts

(1992) Risk factors for fatal residential fires. N. Engl. J. Med. 327, 859–63.

12.

Squires

Busuttil

(1995a) Death certification in Scottish house fires. Medical Audit News 5, 19–20.

13.

Squires

Busuttil

(1995b) Child fatalities in Scottish house fires 1980–1990: a case of child neglect? Child Abuse and Neglect 19, 865–73.

14.

Teige

Lundevall

Fleischer

(1977) Car-boxyhaemoglobin concentrations in fire victims and in cases of fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. Z. Rechtsmed. 80, 17–21.

15.

Trier

(1983) Fire fatalities and deaths from burns in Denmark in 1980. Med. Sci. Law 23, 116–20.

16.

West

Wilding

French

Kemp

Irving

(1993) Effect of low and moderate doses of alcohol on driving hazard perception latency and driving speed. Addiction 88, 527–32.

Alcohol and House Fire Fatalities in Scotland,1980–1990

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References