Causes of Non domestic fires

[Chris Houston]

My own personal experience is that the causes of non domestic fires (fires in commerical and industrial premises) are most commonly caused by:

1 Arson
2 Electrics
3 Hot Work

However, I'm struggling to find any official sources to back this up (or challenge my views)

Does anyone have any sources of such information?

[Nearlybaldandgrey]

There is always the CLG statistics .....

Or the Association of British Insurers.

I tried to get some stats a year ago for a presentation and discovered that the most common cause of fire in non-domestic premises is in fact electrical at 57%.

That incorporates things like distribution boards as well as plant and machinery.

[johno67]

Hi Chris,

the DCLG publish all of the fire statistics. If you look at the tables towards the end of the report it will give you a break down of causes of fire in dwelling and other buildings:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/fireandresiliencestatisticsandre/firestatistics/firestatisticsuk/

[jasper]

have you tried the ABI? Association of British Insurers, they do quite details assessments

[Chris Houston]

The communities info is not very relevant for industrial fires etc, as these only make up 8% of the statistics.  According to communities website, candles and smoking material accounts for a lot of non domestic fires, which is not the case for industrial or commercial premises in the UK.

[wee brian]

You could try giving the stats division at DCLG a call. They have more info than is published.

[johno67]

The communities info is not very relevant for industrial fires etc, as these only make up 8% of the statistics.  According to communities website, candles and smoking material accounts for a lot of non domestic fires, which is not the case for industrial or commercial premises in the UK.

Chris,

are we looking at the same reports? Tables 2 & 3 of the stats do seperate dwellings from other buildings. Of the 35,300 fires in 'other buildings' in 2005 it shows 14,000 as being deliberate with 6.6% (1,400) of accidental fires caused by smoking materials, and less than 1% being due to candles (although the 200 every year does seem a bit suspicious).

The stats are formulated from the FDR (Fire Damage Report) data returned by FRS. I will admit that there is some modelling of the fire to fit the report, so they won't be totally accurate.

If you do find out that they are way off the mark could you let us know as I'm sure a fair number of us (myself included) use them to highlight areas of particular concern when carrying out our training to inspecting officers (Main causes of fire in different types of premises - as detailed in the Fire Safety National Occupational Standards).

[Chris Houston]

The communities info is not very relevant for industrial fires etc, as these only make up 8% of the statistics.  According to communities website, candles and smoking material accounts for a lot of non domestic fires, which is not the case for industrial or commercial premises in the UK.

Chris,

are we looking at the same reports? Tables 2 & 3 of the stats do seperate dwellings from other buildings. Of the 35,300 fires in 'other buildings' in 2005 it shows 14,000 as being deliberate with 6.6% (1,400) of accidental fires caused by smoking materials, and less than 1% being due to candles (although the 200 every year does seem a bit suspicious).

The stats are formulated from the FDR (Fire Damage Report) data returned by FRS. I will admit that there is some modelling of the fire to fit the report, so they won't be totally accurate.

If you do find out that they are way off the mark could you let us know as I'm sure a fair number of us (myself included) use them to highlight areas of particular concern when carrying out our training to inspecting officers (Main causes of fire in different types of premises - as detailed in the Fire Safety National Occupational Standards).

Maybe I misread.  What page tells me these percentages?

[johno67]

Pages 70 & 71 of 2005 stats report

[Chris Houston]

Sorry, I glanced at this and jumped to conclusions without properly reading it.

The 40% deliberate, 30% electrical does not surprise me.  My instincts are that contractors doing hot work account for more than the report suggests and I've yet to visit or hear about a fire that was caused in an industrial site from a chip pan, smokers materials or candle - not that I am doubting these things do occur, I just think the scope of "non domestic" is wider than the buildings I see, for example I never visit garages or corner shops.

So I'm not doubting or challening the stats, just pointing out that stats probably differ for larger commerical or industrial premises.  With fires from heating and contractors featuring more than chip pans, candles and smoking materials.

[johno67]

Yes the scope of 'other buildings' is very wide. It could include the cricket club pavillion up to the large chemical plant. Would it be possible for you to list any sources that you do find relating to these statistics on the forum, as it would come in very useful for a number of us? Thanks.

The huge fire at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull a few years back was believed to have been caused by careless disposal of smoking materials!

[Chris Houston]

My working knowledge comes from my time at Zurich Municipal where they did some good analysis of fires that cost more then £100,000 in property damage.  They work pretty closely with the Arson Prevent Bureau.  I don't have any stats to offer, it's all in my head I'm afraid.

[Mike Buckley]

The Fire Prevention and Fire Engineers Journal has a regular item on statistical information relating to fire losses. The information is compiled by Kay Helm and she could be a good source for the info you need .