When a death occurs we always ask what could have been done

Fire chief on his drive to keep the public safe

– Fire station manager Steven Bosworth

contributing factor. It might involve mobility, they may live alone, they’re smokers, alcohol dependent; there’s no one person who doesn’t have a contributing factor,” said Steven.

“With every incident where someone has lost their home or even their life, you do get the sense of waste when you think it could have been prevented. “We work with partner agencies and our crews deliver free home fire safety visits where we try to identify vulnerability, mobility problems, chaotic lifestyle, and we can refer to social services or local authorities to work together to see what we can do to make home situations safer. “Whenever a fire fatality occurs we do all the background checks to see what had been done around prevention before, and we ask what more could have been done.”

Where the cause of a fire is immediately obvious, investigators may not need to be called in. But, explained Steven, in situations where a fire is unusual or complex, someone has died, a crime is suspected or the blaze has resulted in high-value damage, an investigation will be required.

Whatever the scenario, there is often a common thread that links accidental fires in the home.

“For every fire we investigate, it’s declared usually after a case conference whether it was preventable or not – and a clear majority are. I’ve seen cases where people have used an electric heater to dry clothing, they maybe haven’t read the instructions or know to keep it clear of anything which can catch fire and it has been the cause of serious fires and even fatalities. “Perhaps smoke detectors have been fitted but after all that someone has still died because they have mobility issues and were smoking in bed, it has caught fire and they’ve not been able to get out quickly enough.

“It’s such a sense of tragedy and that’s why we’re putting a lot of resources into prevention. “Having a neighbour or family member checking as often as they can really makes a difference. Carelessness shouldn’t have to end in tragedy and we can all play a part in preventing that.”