Table 1.
Characteristics of residential fire incidents by social vs non-social housing from 2005 to 2014, NSW, Australia.
| N* = 43,707 |
Residential fire-related incidents |
Social housing vs non-social housing |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire and building characteristics |
Social |
Non-social |
Total |
RR | 95%CI | ||||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | ||||
| Property type | |||||||||
| One-family or two-family† | 2,712 | 53.4 | 25,828 | 66.8 | 28,540 | 65.3 | 0.61 | 0.58 – 0.65*** | |
| Apartment†† | 2,200 | 43.4 | 10,578 | 27.4 | 12,778 | 29.2 | 1.85 | 1.75 – 1.96*** | |
| Others††† | 161 | 3.2 | 2,228 | 5.8 | 2,389 | 5.5 | 0.57 | 0.48 – 0.66*** | |
| Type of incident | |||||||||
| Structure & contents | 1,225 | 24.2 | 9,781 | 25.3 | 11,006 | 25.2 | 0.95 | 0.89 – 1.01 | |
| Structure only | 452 | 8.9 | 3,165 | 8.2 | 3,617 | 8.3 | 1.08 | 0.98 – 1.19 | |
| Contents only ∼ | 3,266 | 64.4 | 24,541 | 63.5 | 27,807 | 63.6 | 1.03 | 0.98 – 1.09 | |
| Undetermined | 130 | 2.5 | 1,147 | 3.0 | 1,277 | 2.9 | 0.87 | 0.73 – 1.04 | |
| Construction type | |||||||||
| Structurally Protected ^ | 1,646 | 32.4 | 10,682 | 27.6 | 12,328 | 28.2 | 1.22 | 1.15 – 1.30*** | |
| Structurally Unprotected ^^ | 1,063 | 21.0 | 10,234 | 26.5 | 11,297 | 25.8 | 0.76 | 0.71 – 0.81*** | |
| Undetermined | 2,364 | 46.6 | 17,718 | 45.9 | 20,082 | 45.9 | 1.02 | 0.97 – 1.08 | |
| The extent of flame damage | |||||||||
| Confined to the object of origin | 603 | 11.9 | 5,440 | 14.1 | 6,043 | 13.8 | 0.84 | 0.77 – 0.91*** | |
| Confined to the structure of origin # | 1,917 | 37.8 | 14,082 | 36.4 | 15,999 | 36.6 | 1.05 | 0.99 – 1.11 | |
| Beyond the structure of origin | 51 | 1.0 | 886 | 2.3 | 937 | 2.1 | 0.46 | 0.35 – 0.60*** | |
| Others ## | 193 | 3.8 | 1,191 | 3.1 | 1,384 | 3.2 | 1.21 | 1.05 – 1.38* | |
| Undetermined | 2,309 | 45.5 | 17,035 | 44.1 | 19,344 | 44.3 | 1.05 | 1.00 – 1.11* | |
| Form of Heat of Ignition | |||||||||
| Fuel-Fired | 492 | 9.7 | 5,884 | 15.2 | 6,376 | 14.6 | 0.63 | 0.57 – 0.69*** | |
| Electrical | 388 | 7.6 | 7,174 | 18.6 | 7,562 | 17.3 | 0.40 | 0.36 – 0.44*** | |
| Smokers' Materials | 272 | 5.4 | 1,305 | 3.4 | 1,577 | 3.6 | 1.51 | 1.34– 1.71*** | |
| Open Flame, Matches and Lighters | 890 | 17.5 | 4,179 | 10.8 | 5,069 | 11.6 | 1.62 | 1.51 – 1.74*** | |
| Hot Object or Friction | 1,709 | 33.7 | 11,232 | 29.1 | 12,941 | 29.6 | 1.21 | 1.14 – 1.28*** | |
| Spreading from another Hostile Fire | 226 | 4.5 | 1,934 | 5.0 | 2,160 | 4.9 | 0.90 | 0.78 – 1.02 | |
| Others § | 136 | 2.7 | 1178 | 3.0 | 1,314 | 3.0 | 0.89 | 0.75 – 1.04 | |
| Undetermined | 960 | 18.9 | 5748 | 14.9 | 6,708 | 15.3 | 1.29 | 1.21 – 1.37*** | |
| Detector initiating alarm | |||||||||
| No detector installed | 4,457 | 87.9 | 34,937 | 90.4 | 39,394 | 90.1 | 0.79 | 0.73 – 0.86*** | |
| Had some type of detectors || | 598 | 11.8 | 3,592 | 9.3 | 4,190 | 9.6 | 1.26 | 1.16 – 1.36*** | |
| Undetermined | 18 | 0.4 | 105 | 0.3 | 123 | 0.3 | 1.26 | 0.79 – 1.86 | |
| Extinguishment method | |||||||||
| Self-Extinguished | 515 | 10.2 | 4,273 | 11.1 | 4,788 | 11.0 | 0.92 | 0.84 – 1.00 | |
| Manual Fire Fighting Aids ‡ | 1,235 | 24.3 | 9,529 | 24.7 | 10,764 | 24.6 | 0.98 | 0.92 – 1.05 | |
| Fire Extinguisher ‡‡ | 2,794 | 55.1 | 21,288 | 55.1 | 24,082 | 55.1 | 1.00 | 0.95 – 1.05 | |
| Automatic Extinguishing System ‡‡‡ | 63 | 1.2 | 207 | 0.5 | 270 | 0.6 | 2.02 | 1.56 – 2.57*** | |
| Other extinguishment method ‡‡‡‡ | 406 | 8.0 | 2,606 | 6.7 | 3,012 | 6.9 | 1.18 | 1.07 – 1.29** | |
| Undetermined | 60 | 1.2 | 731 | 1.9 | 791 | 1.8 | 0.65 | 0.50 – 0.82** | |
| Sprinkler presence | |||||||||
| Present | 63 | 1.2 | 333 | 0.9 | 396 | 0.9 | 1.38 | 1.06 – 1.75* | |
| Not present | 2,707 | 53.4 | 21,410 | 55.4 | 24,117 | 55.2 | 0.93 | 0.88 – 0.98* | |
| Undetermined | 2,303 | 45.4 | 16,891 | 43.7 | 19,194 | 43.9 | 1.06 | 1.00 – 1.12 | |
Significance (p value) = * < 0.01, ** < 0.001, *** < 0.0001.
† Private dwellings and duplexes each occupied by members of a single-family group, with total sleeping accommodation for not more than 20 persons, with rooms rented to no more than two outsiders per living unit. This included one-family dwelling: year-round use, one-family dwelling: seasonal use, two-family dwelling: year-round use, two-family dwelling: seasonal use, and one-family and two-family dwelling not classified above and insufficient information to classify further.
†† Quarters for families living independently of each other and with kitchen facilities in individual units, whether designated as an apartment house, garden apartment, living unit, condominium apartment, flat or by any other name. This includes one or two living units with business, three to six living units, seven to 20 living units, over 20 living units and apartments, living units, flats not classified above or insufficient information to classify further.
††† includes rooming/boarding/lodging houses, hotels/motels/lodges, dormitories, holiday apartments/self-contained units and other residential occupancies.
∼ includes Foodstuffs burnt, confined to cooking equipment.
^ includes Structurally Fire Resistive, Structurally Protected Non-combustible, Structural Protected Combustible and Protected Lightweight Framing.
^^ includes Structurally Unprotected Combustible (moderate), Structurally Unprotected Non-combustible, Structurally Unprotected Combustible (ordinary), Unprotected Lightweight Framing and Combustible Building.
# includes confined to part of room or area of origin, confined to the room of origin, confined to the floor of origin and confined to the structure of origin.
## includes no damage of this type, the extent of the damage not classified above.
§ includes heat from explosives/fireworks, heat from a natural source, other forms of heat of ignition such as microwaves.
|| includes thermal detector remotely monitored and thermal detector not remotely monitored, smoke detector remotely monitored and smoke detector not remotely monitored, detector remotely monitored, flame detector not remotely monitored, multifunction detector and other detector types.
‡ includes shovels, fire blanket, garden hose and beaters.
‡‡ includes portable fire extinguisher, appliance hose lines with water carried in appliance tanks, hose lines with water direct from hydrant, stand-pipe, hose lines with water from pump and monitor nozzle.
‡‡‡ includes Sprinkler systems, Gaseous fire suppression which uses inert gases and chemical agents to extinguish a fire as well as, Condensed aerosol fire suppression which is powder automatic extinguisher, used where electrical fires are prevalent.
‡‡‡‡ includes major method of extinguishment not classified above and insufficient information to classify further.