An investigation into the circumstances surrounding fatal dwelling fires involving very young children

Examination of real-fire data has indicated that, compared to both their share in the general population and older children, very young children are at an increased risk of becoming a dwelling fire fatality; however, detailed research focused specifically on very young fire fatalities is almost non-existent. This paper presents an analysis of the circumstances surrounding fatal dwelling fires involving children aged 5 years and under which has been gleaned from coronial reports. Although fatalities among children aged 5 years and under were relatively rare, i.e. 14 during the 11 year period studied, the circumstances surrounding these deaths were similar and recurrent and it is important to understand these fully so that fire prevention efforts can be focused appropriately. This paper presents a unique insight into those circumstances and includes not only quantitative data but also detailed qualitative information gathered from the abundance of rich data within the coronial reports that, more often than not, goes unreported. The paper considers fire incident trends and the fatality's demographics, locations and behaviours, with additional focus on the home environment and warning signs such as persistent fire interest. The analysis indicates that the most common cause of fires for this age group was child fire-play (using smokers' materials), with inadequate supervision and relaxed attitudes to fire safety in the home both playing a contributory role. This paper considers these trends and discusses the implications for focusing fire prevention efforts for this age group. The findings suggest that such efforts may be best focused on parents/carers who were smokers and improving attitudes to fire safety in the home. •Fatal dwelling fires involving children were investigated using coronial reports.•The most common cause of fire was fire-play by young children using lighters.•Availability of sources of ignition and inadequate supervision were important.•Smoke alarms may not prevent dwelling fire deaths in the 5's and under age group.•Attitudes to fire safety in the home must change to prevent future deaths.